i THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTOEY THE POPES OF ROME, FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT TIME : INCLUDING THE HISTOEY OF SAINTS, MARTYRS, FATHERS OF THE CHURCH, RELIGIOUS ORDERS, CARDINALS, INQUISITIONS, SCHISMS, AND THE GREAT REFORMERS. V' By LOUIS MARIE DE CORMENIN. TRAKSLATED FROM THE FRENCH. VOL. L PHILADELPHIA: JAMES M.CAMPBELL. 1 1847. M. W. DODD, PUBLISHER AND BOOKSELLER, BRICK CIIIRCH CHAPEL, OPPOSITE CITY HALL, NEW YORK. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1846, by JAMES M. CAMPBELL, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Printed by King & Baird. TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. The want of a history of the popes of Rome, at once complete, concise, and written in a popular style, has long been felt as a desideratum in our language. That void is supplied in the following work. At this juncture, when the struggle of the church of Rome for future power, has been transferred from the shores of Europe to our own land, it seemed desirable that such a book should be placed within the reach of all. This work opens to our view a clear exposition of the public history and private practices of the men, who, from the position of simple pastors of a single church, advanced their au- thority, step by step, until they became not only the ecclesiastical, but in fact the temporal lords of Christendom. It treats with comprehensive minuteness of their onward march to greatness from their first usurpations over the surrounding churches, until, in the zenith of their pride and power, they trampled emperors and kings beneath their feet, absolved nations from their allegiance, took away and bestowed kingdoms, and parcelled out a world to whom they would. The craft of the first Leo — the steady perseverance of the early popes in their settled policy of aggrandizement — the bold daring of Hildebrand, the monk of Cluny, the master spirit of his age — the public infamy and private debaucheries of Borgia — the reckless audacity of the Farnese, and the voluptuous licentiousness and philosophical atheism of the tenth Leo, are pamted by a master's hand. The actors in the scenes recounted, live and move and have a being, as they pass in review before us. A short but spirited review of the political condition of the world until Christianity was placed on the throne of the Roman empire, with the various heresies that have occurred, with their leading doctrines and principal actors, are set forth with great clearness and com- prehensiveness. In a word, the reader of this work will find himself, at the close of its perusal, acquainted with all the leading facts connected with the history of the Christian church, and the accompanying political history of the world. Coming from the pen of a Roman Catholic, but one who is enabled to see that good may be found out of the pale of his own church, it maybe read without the suspicion of its truth, naturally attendant on such a production from the pen of one of adverse faith. The vices of the men who claim to be the vicars of Christ on earth are not slurred over ; the horrors at- tendant on religious bigotry and fanaticism in the persecution, torture and murder of fellow men, are truthfully portrayed ; and the claim for the popes to infallibility best exposed by the record of their ambition, avarice, public dishonesty and private turpitude. All are not portrayed as base ; for in the long catalogue of the rulers of the church of Rome, it would indeed be strange, if there were not found, as there are, men endued with noble natures, lofty aspirations, and generous desires for the benefit of their fellows : these shine forth as brilliant lights in the surrounding darkness. The strong republican feelings of the author have led him to watch with a close and critical eye all movements having a tendency to the concentration of power, either in church or state, in the hands of a single individual, and will meet with a ready response in the only large ana powerful nation of the world in which civil and religious freedom may be truly said to exist in a pure form. His views, however, on any subject treated of, and more especially concerning the so- called philosophers of the eighteenth century, are not, of course, endorsed by the translator. It was his aim to set his author down as he found him, and nothing more. One word of ex- planation may be necessary. Whenever the words "priest" and "priesthood" occur they refer exclusively to the ministry of the Roman church, as do the words "church" and "reh- gion" to that church and its tenets. That some portions of the work are calculated to excite disgust in the minds of the readers can readily be understood. In dealing however with impurity we cannot avoid bringing many things to light which a fastidious taste will deprecate. The horrid corruptions of the Roman church would however never be known unless the tinsel covering which gilds it is removed, and the putrid mass of corruption lying beneath the veil of its infallibility can never be exhibited without the removal of that veil. Private vice as well as religious corruption have marked its progress, and to expose the one it is necessary to lay bare the other. An earnest desire to place the history of this all-a.spiring church, and the true character of its infallible heads, before his countrymen, as a beacon and a warning, led him to undettake this task. Should he succeed in this, his object will be accomplished. Philadelphia, July, 1846. PREFACE The History of the Popes is an immense work, which embraces within its scope the political, moral, and religious revolutions of the world. It runs through a long series of ages, during which the bishops of Rome, whose mission was to announce to men a divine religion, have forgotten it in their pride of power, have outraged the morality of Christ, and become the scourge of the human race. Formerly the thunders laimched from the Vatican by sacrilegious priests, overthrew kingdoms, and covered Europe, Asia and Africa, with butcheries, wars and conflagra- tions. But the times are changed ; religious passions are softened ; philosophy has overthrown absolute thrones, and broken down the colossal power of the popes. A brief analysis of these epochs precedes our history, and offers a frightful picture of monstrous debaucheries, bloody wars, memorable schisms, and revolutions. It prepares, by its wonderful recital, for the long succession of pontiffs and kings cele- brated for their crimes, or illustrious for their exploits. In the past ages the History of the Popes introduces us to the butcheries of the inquisition, which we now hope will receive the honours of excommunication from posterity. (4^ /,;/* cnHiffwr K Jl'Oui^an Fhjuid ' ^'abas l^isKoy nl 3lcru&alnu ^ / p ,.♦. if THE HISTORY OF THE POPES. The wisdom of nations has caused blind fa- * naticism to disappear ; reason and tolerance have replaced the religious passions which drove men to the most horrible extremes, and caused them to resemble tigers, gorged with blood, rather than human beings. The pride of the popes, and their insatiable ambition, found in absolute monarchs power- ful and frecjuently docile auxiliaries, in impo- sing upon the people their execrable wishes, in overwhelming the weak, in aggrandizing their estates, and at length in reaching so great a height of audacity, that they called themselves the representatives of God upon earth, and arrogated the right of giving away kingdoms, deposing princes, and dividing the world. The shades of ignorance then obscured the mind ; the people, stupified in a frightful slavery, rent each other like wild beasts, in order to please their tyrants, and subserve their ill-reg-ulated passions. Ages of misfor- tune, massacres, incendiarism and famine ! Abusing the credulity of the people, kings destroyed empires in their senseless sway, and made a desert alike of the city and the country. The popes, more loose and savage than the tyrants of ancient Rome and Byzantium, seated upon the pontifical chair, crowned with a triple diadem of pride, h}'pocrisy and fanaticism — surrounded by assassins, poisoners, and cour- tiers— surrendered themselves to all kinds of debauchery, and insulted the public misfor- tunes. But the darkness is dissipated ; murder, as- sassination, misery, and devastation, have given place to truth, — eternal truth, which the policy and the cruelty of kings had buried un- der the rubbish of empires ! History — great and magnificent lesson ! it wanders through the past when the pitiless barbarity of priests, aided by the ignorance of men, overwhelmed the world ; when the in- habitants of the countt;y', naked and ragged, caused horror in the brigands themselves, who found nothing left to pillage but dead bodies. It recalls the epochs of disaster, con- fusion and solitude, when the smallest farm houses among English, French and Romans, were armed against the wretches hi the pay of kii;2^s and nobles, who were greedy for thi'ir pivy; all were bent on pillaging the labourer and massacreing the people : and, as- tonishing and horrible to relate, the very animals, accustomed to the sound of the toc- sin, a signal of the arrival of the soldiery, ran without gTiides to their hiding-places. Nations will learn to judge of emperors and kings, inflexible and inexorable despots, who drove on millions of men to cruel wars, in order to sustain the most unjust pretensions, augment the number of their slaves, increase their wealth, satisfy the unbridled luxury of their courtiers, satiate the avidity of their mistresses, or perhaps occupy the unquiet and restless spirit of a king devoured with ennui. The people will learn gi-eat truths from his- tory ; they will learn by what bold impiety, what sacrilegious deeds, popes and kings have been the causes of the greatest misfortunes to Europe, during two thousand years of ty- ramiy and fanaticism. During the reign of Tiberius appeared a man, the son of Mary, called Christ. The na- tions Avere plunged in ignorance ; the law of Moses was obscured by hiunan traditions; the morals of the Israelites, and of those of other people, were in a like degree of corruption. This man, all extraordinary, all divine, did not content himself with mourning over the human race. He preached, he dogiriatized, he taught a code of severe morahty, opposed to the corrapt maxims of the age. His disciples, chosen from among the peo- ple, taught, as they had learned from their divine Master, sage precepts, a holyand rigid morality, a mysterious doctrine, and incom- prehensible dogmas. The disciples of Christ did not employ force to cause men to receive their precepts; on the contrary, they were persecuted in all ways, and their preaching, aided by their example, made the most rapid progress. They persecuted the man of God. They pursued him with a fury equal to the zeal with which he bore witness against vice ; and he terminatt'd his divine mission by an in- famous punislunent. The first Christians were distinguished by the names of brethren, — holy, faiihful ; they were humble, obscure, and poor, working with their own hands for their subsistence. They spread themselves secretlj^ in peace; some went to Rome, mixed up among the Jews, to whom the Romans permitted the exercise of their worship in their synaa'Pirue._ It was towards the year 60 of our era, that the Christians commenced separating them- selves from the Jewish communion. They separated themselves on account of the vio- lent quarrels among the sjTiagogues scattered through Rome, Greece, Egjpt and Asia ; they 6 HISTORY OF THE POPES. were accused of atheism by their Jewish brethren, and excommunicated three times on the Sabbath day. Many churches were formed, and the sepa- ration became complete between the Jews and Christians. The Romans had an equal contempt for both. This people, the most tolerant on the earth, permited their extrava- gance so long as they did not interfere with the order of things established by law ; but when these obscure sectarians became perse- cutors— when they spat upon the images of the gods — when they overthrew their statues, then the prefect of Rome gave them up to the axe of the victors. In the first age the apostles and their suc- cessors concealed themselves in the catacombs of Rome, wandering about in villages and caverns. The popes had not yet an episcopal throne; they did not step upon the heads of kings ; they did not yet overthrow empires. The alms of the Neophytes rendered the place of bishops in the great cities very lu- crative ; their credit extended itself, because of their wealth ; their insolence and audacity increased in a like proportion, and their for- midable power raised itself by ^ deception of the people. When the churches received a form, they recognized five orders ; the superintendents of souls, the bishops ; the elders of the so- ciety, who were the priests ; the servants or deacons ; the initiated or believers, who par- took of the love feasts ; the cathechumens, who were awaiting baptism : all these dress- ed like the rest of mankind, nor were they constrained to preserve celibacy. Becoming more numerou s, they raised them- selves up against the Roman empire, and forced the magistrates to act with severity aguinst a sect which troubled the public order. They did not punish the Jews, wdio were separated from the Christians, and who shut themselves up in their synagogues ; they permitted to them the exercise of their reli- gion, as that of all other worships. But the Christians, declaring themselves enemies of all other religions, and especially of that of the empire, were many times punished by its laws. From this crowd of martyrs have the priests of Rome filled their legends. Historians affirm that few Chris- tians perished as martyrs ; no one was perse- cuted for his religious belief, but for acts for- bidden by all laws. Councils even were tolerated ; they recount five in the first century, six in the second, and thirty in the third. The emperors beheld with contempt, sometimes with indignation, the progress of this new religion, which was elevating its worship on the ruin of the gods of the empire. Diocletian, who passes for a persecutor, was, during more, than eighteen years, the avowed protector of the Christians ] they oc- cupied important places about his person ; he even married a Christian, and permitted them in Nicomedia, his residence, to build a superb church opposite to his palace. Galerius con- vinced Diocletian that this sect, which he protected, was intoxicated with fanaticism and fury. The emperor published an edict for the destruction of the church in Nicomedia ; a fanatic tore it to pieces. Information was laid and proof found of a wide-spread conspiracy, which extended itself from one extremity of the empire to the other. Antioch, Jerusalem, Cffisarea and Alexandria, were filled with these intolerant innovators. The hearth of this fire was in Italy, Rome, Africa and Asia Minor. More than two hundred thousand of the con- spirators were condemned to death. We arrive at the epoch when Constantinf placed Christianity upon the throne. From thence we see Christians, animated by a furious zeal, persecuting without pity, fan- ning the most extravagant quarrels, and con- straining pagans, by fire and sword, to em- brace Christianity. Constantius Chlorus had a Christian concu- bine, the mother of Constantine, and known as Saint Helena. Csesar Constantius Chlorus died at York in England, at a time when the children, whom he had by the daughter of Maximilian Hercules, his legitimate wife, could make no pretensions to the empire. Constantine, the son of his concubine, was chosen emperor by six thousand German, Gallician, and British soldiers. This election, made by the soldiery, without the consent of the senate and Roman people, was ratified by his victory over Maxentius. chosen emperor at Rome, — and Constantine mounted a throne soiled with murders. An execrable parricide, he put to death the two Licinii, the husband and son of his sister ; he did not even spare his own children, and the empress Fausta the wife of this monster, was strangled by his orders in a bath. He then consulted the pontiffs of the empire, to know what sacrifices he should offer to the gods in order to make expiation for his crime. The sacrificing priests refused his offerings, and he was repulsed with horror by the high priest, who exclaimed, " Far from hence be parricides, whom the gods never pardon." After this a priest promised him pardon for his crimes, if he should become purified in the water of baptism, and the emperor became a Christian. He then left Rome, and founded his new Capitol of Constantinople. During his reign the ministers of the Christian religion com- menced showing their ambition, which had been concealed during three centuries. As- sured of impunity, they cast the wife of Maxentius into the Orontes, murdered his re- latives, massacred the magistrates in Egypt and Palestine, drew from their retreat the widow and daughter of Diocletian, and thSew them into the sea. Constantine assembles the council of Nice, exiles Arius, recallshim, banishes A thanasius, and dies in the arms of Eusebius, the chief of the Arians, having been baptized on the bed of death, in order to escape the torments of hell. HISTORY OF THE POPES. Constans, the son and successor of Cou- tantine, imitates all his barbarity ; like him, he assembles councils, which proscribe and anathematise. Athanasius sustains his par- ty in Europe and Asia by combined skill and force: the Arians overwhelm him. Exiles, pri- sons, tumults and assassinations, sis;nalizc the termhiation of the abominable life of Constans. Jovien and Valentiiuan guarantee entire liberty of conscience. The two parties ex- ercise against each other hatred and merci- less rage. Theodosius declares for the council of Nice. The empress Justine, who reigned in Illyria and Africa, as the tutoress of the young Va- lentian, proscribes him. The Goth.s, Vandals, Burgundians, and Franks, hurl themselves upon the provinces of the empire; theylind the opinions of Arius established in them, and the conquerors em- brace the religion of the conquered. The pope Anastasius calms, by his justice and his toleration, the religious quarrels which separate the churches of the East and the West ; but the hatred of the priests soon termi- nated, by crime, a life which had been glori- ous for religion, and dear to humanity. ]\Iahomet appeared in the seventh centu^)^ A skilful impostor, he founds a new religion, and the greatest empire of the world. Ban- ished from Mecca, he re-assembles his dis- ciples, establishes the foundation of his theo- gony, and marches to the most surprising- conquests. The Christians were divided by gross here- sies. The Persians made a terrible war on the empire of the east, and pursued Jews and Catholics with an implacable hatred. All was confusion in church and state. The bishops had not yet arrogated to them- selves temporal jurisdiction ; but the weak- ness of the empire of the west gave rise to this scandalous usurpation, which has covered Europe with butcheries, disasters, and ruin. Pepin, king of France, allies himself in succession with popes Zachary and Stephen. In order to cloak from the eyes of the people his usurpation of the crowni of France, and the murder of his brother, he surrenders to the Holy See the domains in Romagna, taken from the Lombards. Stephen the Third, an hypocritical priest, does not delay to signalize his new power, by the excess of the most frightful ambition. Under Stephen the Sixth, fnry is at its height. The clergy are divitled into factions, and the pope is chosen in the midst of the carnage. The pontiff, after his victory, put out the eyes, and tore out the tongue, of Con- stantine the Second, his predecessor. . Charlemagne invades Lombardy; deprives his nephews of their inheritance ; despoils his brother-in-law to punish him for having un- dertaken their defence, carries him to Lyons in chains, and condemns him to terminate his days in prison. Then Leo the Third placed a crown of gold upon his head, and a mantle of purple on his shoulders. But the descen- dants of Charlemagne could not preserve at Rome the influence this usurper had ac- quired, by granting to the popes the knd he had taken away from the Lombards. Paschal the First, by a criminal boldness, put out the eyes and cut ofi" the heads, in the patriarchal palace of the Lateran, of Theo- dorus, a high officer of the Roman church, and of Leo his son-in-law. because they had remained faithful to Lothaire. On the death of this pope the people endeavoured to prevent his burial, and wished to drag his dead body through trie streets of Rome. Eugenius, his successor, occupies himself in transporting from the sepulchres of Italy putrefied bones, the frightful vestiges of hu- man nature. He sent them into France, Germany and England, and sold them to Christian Europe. Leo the Fourth has the impudence to assure the bishops of immunity for the most frightful crimes. After the death of Leo. a woman mounts the chair of St. Peter, celebrating mass, cre- ating bishops, and giving her feet to be kissed by princes and people. The popess Joan becomes enceinte by a cardinal, and dies in the pangs of child-birth, in the midst of a religious ceremony. In the ninth century, the Greek and Latin churches separate. Ridiculous differences cause live centuries of murders, carnage, and frightful wars; and twenty-five bloody schisms in the west soil the chair of Rome. The Arabs and Turks overwhelm the Greek and African churches, and elevate the JNIaho- medan religion upon the ruins of Christianitv. The Roman church maintains itself, amid troubles, discords and ruin. During this qpoch of anarchj-, the bishops and abbots in Ger- many became princes, and the popes obtain absolute power in Rome. Stephen the Seventh, driven on bj- a pitiless rage, orders the sepulchre of Formosus to be despoiled, causes them to take out from it the dead body. and. horrible to relate, has it brought into the synod assembled to degrade him. Then this frightful body, covered with the pontifical habits, is interrogated in the midst of scandalous and infnriate clamour. '• Why ha.'^t thou, being bi.'^hcp of Portus, usurp- ed, through ambition, the universal see of Rome?'' Then the pope, pushed on by an exe- crable barbarity, orders his three fingers and head to be cut off, and his dead body to be cast into the Tiber. Sergins invades tlie pontifical chair. He leads publicly a life, soiled with debaucheries, with the famous courtezan jNIarozia. Their son becomes pope, under the name of John the Twelfth, and surpasses them by his mon- strous crimes. Cardinals and bii^hops accused him of incest with his mother — of violating the holy virgin.* — of adultery, homicide, pro- fanity and blasphemy. Gregory the Fifth cuts off the feet, hands, tongue and ears of John and Crescenlius, and makes them walk, thus mutilated, through the streets of Rome. Benedict the Ninth is raised to the Holy Sec at ■8 HISTORY OF THE POPES. twelve years of age. by the intrigues and gold [ of the Count of Tuscanella. He immediately guvreuders himself to excess of depravity, and the most shameless debaucheries. The Ro- mans, Avorn out by his outrages, drive him from Rome, and name another pope, Sylves- ter the Third. Benedict, by the assistance of his relatives, seats himself anew in the Holy See ; but perceiving himself to be an object of universal execration, and fearing a terrible fall, he, by an infamous simony, sells the Holy See, and consecrates a third pope, John the Twentieth. He then retires into the palace of his father, in order to surrender himself to the most infamous pleasures. After having made this odious traffic, the desire of ruling re-enters his soul, and places him a third time in this dishonoured chair. Alone, against the Romans, who held him in horror — alone against the two other popes, producing a triple schism — he proposes to his adversaries to divide between them the reve- nues of the church. These three anti-popes, by a shameful traffic, divide into three parts the patrimony of the poor, and boldly rule ; the one at Saint Peter's, the other at St. Mary Majeura, and the third at the palace of the Lateran; an execrable triumvirate. A bold, avaricious and dissolute priest, pur- chases from the three popes their infamous titles to the papacy, and succeeds them under the name of Gregory the Sixth. Hildebrand, the monk of Cluny, the poi- soner of popes, the most deceitful of priests, usurps the pontifical see, under the name of Gregory the Seventh. He launches his anathe- mas against kings; excites public wars; fflls Germany and Italy with disorder, carnage and murder. He excommunicates the emperor of Germany; takes from him the title of king; frees his people from the oath of obedience ; excites princes against him. and at last re- duces him to such a state of misfortune, that the force of his mind is shattered. At length — extreme of pride and degTadation — the king sought the pope " in the depth of win- ter, fasting, with naked feet and in his shirt, having a pair of scissors and a hair-brush in his hand." Adrian, the son of an English friar, causes the emperor Barbarossa to hold the stirrup of his palfrey ; and in order to add barbarity to his triumph, demands that the famous Ar- nold of Brescia should be delivered up to him to be burned alive, because he had preached against the luxury of priests, and the abomi- nations of pontiffs. Alexander pushes still further than his pre- decessors his outrages against kings. The emperor Frederick, in order to free his son Otho, who was a prisoner in the hands of the Romans, supplicates the pope to absolve him from excommunication. The inflexible Alexander demands that the emperor should come in person to ask for his pardon, in the {)resence of the assembled people, without lis robes or his crown, having the rod of a beadle in his hand, and that he should pros- trate his face to the earth. When he was extended on the ground at the entrance of the church, Alexander put his foot on his neck and trampled on him, exclaiming, "Thou shalt tread upon the serpent and the cockatrice, and shalt crush the lion and the dragon." Celestin the Third, affords a frightful ex- ample of insatiable avarice. Alexander had trampled under his feet Frederick Barbarossa, who demanded the liberation of his son. This new pope, for money, crowned the emperor Henry the Fourth, an execrable monster, who renewed the impious sacrilege of Stephen the the Seventh, by exhuming the dead body of Tancred, that his head should be cut of}' by the public executioner. He put out the eyes of William, the young son of Tancred, after having made him an eunuch. He condemned the count Jourdan to an horrible punishment, having caused him to be affixed to a chain of heated iron, and to be crowned by a circle of hot iron, which they fastened on his head. Innocent the Third preached the crusades against the infidel, and increased his treasury from the riches of the people. This crafty, sacrilegious pope, established the monstrous tribunal of the inquisition. Then he preached a crusade against the Albigenses, and despoil- ed the estates of Raymond the Sixth, count of Toulouse. He sent forth St. Dominick, with power to persecute with fire, sword, and un- heard-of torments, the unfortunate Waldenses. The crusaders stormed the city of Beziers. The frightful Dominick, Christ in one hand and a torch in the other, creates the carnage, and sixty thousand dead bodies were buried under the ruins of that city, which was redu- ced to ashes. Toulouse, Carcassonne, Alby, Castlenaudary, Narbonne, Aries, Marseilles, Aix, Avignon, were devastated by the armies of the pope. Gregory the Ninth, in order to maintain his ambitious projects and the unbridled luxury of his court, levies imposts on France, Eng- land and Germany. He excommunicates kings, frees people from their allegiance, and is driven from Rome by his subjects. Ray- mond the Seventh, though a Catholic, but the son of a heretic, is pursued by him and des- poiled of his estates. The pope sends a legate into France, to sustain this abominable war in Languedoc and Provence. Raymond de- fends himself gallantly ; and the people, tired of the insatiable avarice of Gregory the Ninth, refuse to pay the imposts, and force the pope to conclude a peace. The pontiff, arrested in his progress, con- demns Raymond to pay ten thousand marks of silver to his legate, two thousand to the abbey of Citeaux, a thousand to that of Grand Ligne, and three hundred to that of Belle Pouche, all for the remission of his sins, as the treaty signed at the door of the cathedral of Paris witnesses. Innocent the Fourth, in the midst of his crimes performed a generous action, which re- conciles humanity to him. He midertakes the HISTORY OF THE POPES. defence of the Jews of Germany, whom the princes and priests persecuted, in order to en- rich themselves with their spoils. In that bar- barous ai^e, a false zeal for relij^ion served as a pretext for the most revolting hijustice. They invented calumnies ajrainst the Jews, accused them of eating- the heart of a new-born in- fant at the passover supper; and, when they found the body of a dead man, they put them to the torture, and conderned them to perish by the most frightful torments. Urban the Fourth signs a shameless treaty with St. Louis and Charles of Angou, to enrich themselves with the kingdom of Naples, and divide the estates of the young Conradin. The pope overcomes the scruples of the king of France, and causes the duke of Angou to swear that he will abandon to the Holy See the domains to which he laid pretensions, and pay eight thousand ounces of gold every year. Clement the Fourth continues the policy of his prL*decessor. The young Conradin returns to his estates, and fights a decisive battle, and is made prisoner, together with Frederick of Austria. After a rigorous captivity, Charles of Angou, by the order of the pope, condemns them to perish by the hand of the executioner. The young duke of Austria was the first exe- cuted. Conradin seized the head of his friend, and received the mortal blow holding it in his embrace. Martin the Fourth momits the chair of St. Peter, and makes a sacrilegious agreement virith Charles of Angou; the one a political ty- rant, the crafty usurper of Sicily, the other the consecrated tyrant of Rome. Their cruelties excite general indignation. A vast conspiracy is formed ; John of Procida, a Sicilian gentle- man, is the soul of it. He engages IVlichael Paleologus to join it ; goes to Spain to obtain the aid of Peter of Arragon, and hastens through the cities of Sicily to excite their minds to vengeance. On the third day of Easter, 1282, at the hour of vespers, is the signal for the carnage given. At the sound of the bell, a cry of death resounds through all the cities of Sicily. The French are massacred in the churches, in the public places, and in private houses; every where is murder and vengeance. Ten thou- sand dead bodies are the trophies of the Sici- lian vespers. Boniface the Eighth becomes pope, after having assassinated his predecessor. He out- rages the people, defies kings, pursues with hatred the Ghibelins, the partizans of the em- peror of Germany, invents the jubilee to draw the wealth of the nations into his treasury, and excites so profound a hatred against him- self, that the states assemble at Paris, by order of Philip the Handsome, to judge the pope. The archbishop of Narbonne accuses nim of being a simoniac, an assassin, and an usurer; of not believing in the eucharist, nor the immortality of the soul; of employing force to cause the secrets of the confessional to be revealed; of living in concubinage with his two nieces, and of having children by them ; and, last of all, of having employed Vol. I. B the riches acquired by the sale of indulgences to pay the Saracens to invade Sicily. Nogaret and Sciara Colonna are charged to carry to the pope the order to appear at Lyons to be judged by a general council. They ar- rive, at the head of three hundred horsemen, at the city of Anagni, the residence of Boni- face. Meeting with resistance, they force an entrance into the palace, and present to the pope the accusations against him. Boniface, transported by fury, charges Nogaret with in- juring him, and curses the king of France and his descendants to the fourth generation. Then Sciara Colonna struck him on the face with his iron gauntlet, until the blood flew. Clement the Fifth and Philip the Handsome •accuse the templars of enormous crimes, and condemn them to the most frightful punish- ments, in order to enrich themselves with their immense wealth. By the order of the king, the grand master of the Templars, ac- companied by his knights, is conducted to punishment, to be burned alive in the pre- sence of cardinals and priests, who cruelly contemplate these bloody slakes. After having divided with the king the spoils of the Templars, Clement the Filth es- tablished his court at Avignon, and publicly abandoned himself to the most depraved de- bauchery, with his nephew and the daughter of the Count de Foix. He preached a new crusade against the Turks, sold mdulgences, and, joming ridicule to infamy, gave to each crusader the right of delivering four souls from purg-atory ; and the people have been scourged for eighteen hundred years under the pitiless rod of these criminal popes. Jolm the Twenty-second seized the tiara, seated himself on the pontifical throne, and said, "I am pope.'' In order to strengthen this usurpation, he launched his anathemas against the emperor of Germany and the king of France, persecuted sectarians, burned heretics, freed people from their allegiance, armed princes, inundated kingdoms with his monks, preached new crusades, sold benefices, and , drew into his treasury twenty-five millions of 1 florins, collected from all parts of the Christian , world. I Benedict theTwelfth stops the depredations, arrests the imposts which his predecessor hail levied upon the people, practises a severe morality, reforms the morals of the clergy, and dies in the midst of his apostolical labours. Clement the Sixth buys from the celebrated Joanna of Naples, the country of Avignon, promising therefor three hundred thousand florins of gold, which he never paid, and de- clares her innocent of the murder of Andreas, her husband, whom she had caused to be as- sassinated. Under Urban the Sixth commenced the great schism which divided the west; two popes were elevated to the pontifical chair. . Urban the Sixth niled at Rome ; Clement the Seventh, the anti-pope, at Avignon. Luring a period of fifty years the two popes and their successors excited cruel wars, and excommu- nicated each other. Italy, Naples, Hungary 10 HISTORY OF THE POPES. and Spain, espoused the cause of Urban; France sustained Clement the Seventh. Every vsrhere brigandage and cruelty abounds, pro- duced by the order of Clement, or the fanati- cism of Urban. The unfortunate and guilty Joanna sent forty thousand ducats to the pope, in order to strengthen her cause. By way of thanks. Ur- ban caused her to be strangled at the foot of the altar. The pontiff had induced Charles de Duras, the adopted son and heir of Joanna, to commit this horrid parricide. The prince having refused to divide with the pope the spoils of Joanna, the fury of Urban was turned against six cardinals, whom he supposed to form the party of Charles. They were thrown, laden with chains, into offensive dungeons; their eyes were put out, the nails of their feet and hands wrenched off, their teeth broken, their flesh pierced with rods of heated iron, and at length their bodies, frightfully mutilated, were tied up in sacks, whilst still alive, and thrown into the sea. Clement the Seventh held his seat at Avig- non, and levied enormous imposts on the church of France, in order to enrich the cardi- nals and satisfy the unbridled* luxury of his court. His conduct was not at all inferior to that of his competitor in violence, deceit and crime. The two popes desolated Europe by their armies and those of their partisans; fury had blotted out the sentiments of humanity ; every where were treason, poisoning, massacre. An endeavour was made to remedy the public ca- lamities, but the two popes opposed all pro- positions which could restore peace to the church. The schism continued under their succes- sors; the cardinals not being able to over- come the obstinacy of the two popes, cited Benedict the Thirteenth and Gregory the Twelfth to appear before a general council, convened at Pisa ; and, when they refused to do so, the pa- triarch of Alexandria, assisted by those of An- tioch and Jerusalem, pronounced, with a loud voice in the church, whose doors were opened, and in the presence of the assembled multi- tude, the definite sentence of deposition against them. Alexander the Fifth endeavoured to strengthen the union of the church, to reform the morals of the clergy, to give the sacred charges to virtuous men, and died of a poi- soned clyster, administered by the orders of the cardinal Baltheazar Cossa. This base as- sassin assembled the conclave, and. seizing the pontitical mantle, placed it on his shoul- ders, exclaiming, "I am the pope." The affrighted cardinals confirmed the elec- tion of John the Twenty-third ; but the deposed popes, Benedict the Thirteenth and Gregory the Twelfth, revived their pretensions to the see of Rome ; an horrible war, excited by anathemas, fills Prussia and Italy with blood; The empire has three emperors, as the church has three popes, or rather the church and the empire have no heads. A general council assembles, and proceeds to the deposition of Pope Jolm the Twenty- third. The bishops and cardinals accuse him of murders, incest, poisoning and sodomy; of having seduced and carried on a sacrilegious intercourse with three hundred religious wo- men; of having violated three sisters; and of having confined a whole family, in order to abuse the mother, son and father. Martin the Fifth burned alive Jolin Huss and Jerome of Prague, the leaders of a new sect, which preached ag'ainst the disorders of the priests and the ambition of the pontiffs, and led men back to sentiments of humanity. He then organizes a crusade against Bohemia; but the inhabitants of this wild country, ex- alted by generous principles of liberty, con- tend with courage against fanaticism. Em- bassadors are sent to Prague, with proposals for peace, and the Bohemians reply, "that a free people have no need of a king." The legates of the pope and the emperor command in person the armies sent against the Bohemians, to prevent their communing in the two kinds, bread and wine. Frightful madness. For a subject so trifling Germany is given up to the horrors of a civil war ; but the cause of the people is triumphant. The troops of the emperor are defeated in many engagements, and the amiy of the legates is cut to pieces. Eugenius the Fourth mounts the Holy See ; he confirms as legate in Germany Julian Caesar, in order to exercise cruel persecutions against the Hussites. During his reign an important act transpires; a struggle takes place between the powers of the church; the council of Basle endeavours to bring under subjection the power of the popes, and the pope declares that his see is beyond the reach of councils. The fathers make a terrible decree, declare Eugenius the Fourth a profanator, incorrigi- ble, and a scandal to the church, and depose him from the papacy. Felix the Fifth is nominated as pope, and Eugenius becomes the anti-pope. The councils of Florence and Basle excommunicate each. Depositions, violence, cruelty succeed. Vit- teleschi. archbishop of Florence, is assassi- nated by the orders of Eugenius; divided kingdoms take the part of one or the other, and a schism is renewed which lasts until the death of Eugenius the Fourth. During the pontificate of Nicholas the Fifth, took place the celebrated capture of Constan- tinople by the Turks; the pontiff, solicited by the Grecian embassadors to grant them suc- cours of men and money, harshly refused, and we must attribute the loss of this powerful city to the perfidy of the Roman court, which sacrificed the rampart of Christianity, and basely betrayed a people whom they should have succoured. The merits and the piety of Calixtus the Third, elevate him to the pontifical throne, which he honours by his genius. Sextus the Fourth employs all his care and solicitude in increasing his wealth. He aug- ments the imposts, invents new charges, and sells them at auction to satisfy the avarice of HISTORY OF THE POPES. 11 Peter Riere, of Savana, and of his brother Je- rome, -whom he had created cardinals, and who ministered to his horrid pleasures. This shameless pope established at Rome a brothel, the courtezans of which paid him a golden Julius weekly. This revenue amount- ed to twenty thousand ducats a year. An exe- crable act committed by him is alone suffi- cient to render his memory for ever odious. The family of the cardinal of Saint Lucia having presented to him a petition, that he (the cardinal) should be permitted to commit sodomy during the three warmest months of the year, he wrote at the bottom of the peti- tion, •' Let it be as desired." He then formed a conspiracy against LaU' and continued his incest with the most beau- tiful, whom they call Rosa Vanozza. She bore him five children, one of whom was the famous Ca?sar Borgia, who would have surpassed the crimes of his father, if the devil himself could have equalled them. During the pontificate of Innocent, assassins and bandits had so increased in number, that the cardinals, before entering the conclave, fortified their dwellings with musketry, and pointed cannon along the streets. Rome was become a public market, where all holy charges were for sale ; Roderick Borgia pub- licly bought the sulFrages of twenty-two car- dinals, and was proclaimed pope. Armed with the sacerdotal power, his exe- rent and Julian de Medicis, sends Raphael crable vices daily increased; he delivered Riere to Florence, and during a solemn mass, ' himself up to the most monstrous incest, and and whilst the cardinal wa"s elevating the horrible to relate, the two brothers, Francis host, the conspirators stabbed Julian de Me- ' and Caesar, mingled their infamous pleasures dicis. Laurent courageously defends himself, ' with their father's ui the embraces of their and, although wounded, gains the sacristy, sister Lucretia. The people "precipitate themselves upon the j The immoderate ambition of the pope knew conspirators, disarm them, and hang them from no bounds ; all laws, human and divine, were the windows of the church, as well as Salviato, trampled under feet. He forms alliances and archbishop of Pisa, in his sacerdotal robes. breaks them ; he preaches crusades, levies im- Innocent the Eighth succeeds Sextus. His posts in Christian kingdoms, inundates Eu- election cost him more than all the treasures rope wdthhis legions of monks, enriches him- oftheHolySee; the resources were exhausted, self with the wealth they carry to him, and but the genius of the pope remained. He ap- calls Bajazet into Italy to oppose the king of pointed lifty-two venders of bulls, whom he France. Later, his policy causes him to seek charged to squeeze the people, and joined to the aid of Charles ; and, protected by the them twenty-six secretaries, who each lodged French, he undertakes the rum of the petty with him two thousand five hundred marks sovereigns of Romagna. He puts some to of gold. His private life was deiiled by the death by the dagger, others by poison, fills all vilest scandals. Educated at the court of king minds with dread, and prepares for Ceesar Bor- Alphonso. of Sicilv, he had contracted the gia the absolute dominion of Italy, frightful Vice of s'odomy. His remarkable His insatiable avarice invented the most beauty had procured him admission into the sacrilegious means of enriching itself; he sold family of Phillip, cardinal of Bolonga, as the the sacred charges, the altars, even Christ minister to his monstrous pleasures. On the himself, and then took them back again to death of his protector he became the minion sell again the second time. He nominated of Paul the Second, and of Sextus, who ele- the cardinal of Modena as distributor of his vated him to the cardinalship. graces and dispensations; in the name of this The grand master of Rhodes delivered to minister of iniquity he sold honors, dignities, Pope Innocent the young prince Zizimus, to marriages, divorces; and as the simony of the Erotect him from the pursuit of his brother cardinal did not bring in sums sufficiently ajazet. The sultan of Eiiypt sends embas- large to sustain the extravagance of the family sadors to offer to the pope four humlred thou- of Alexander, he administered to him the fatal sand ducats and the city of Jerusalem in ex- poison of the Borgias, to obtain lor himself change for prince Zizimus, whom he wishes the immense riches which he had amassed, to place at the head of iiis troops, in order to { He made promotions to cardinalships. re- march against Constantinople, and engages to ceiving pa\-ment therefor; then declaring the restore that city to the Christians; but the ! Holy See the heir of the property of prelates, sultan Bajazet bid higher, and the pontiff re- j he poisoned them, in order to enrich himselt tained Zizimus a prisoner in his states. with their spoils. All these crimes still did We enter nov/ upon the reign of a pope ! not afford him sufficient money, and he puD who, by the admission of all historians, is the most dreadful of all men who have alfrighted the world. A depravity hitherto unknown, an insatiable cupidity, an unbridled ambition, a cnielty more than barbarous — such were the horrid qualities of Roderick Borgia, chosen pope, by the title of Alexander the Sixth. His passions were so unbridled that, having be- come enamoured of a widow who had two daugliters, not content with the mother, he bent the daughters also to his desires; he caused one of them to be placed in a convent. lished that the Turks were about to waue war again.st Christianity, and under the veil of re- ligion he extorted sums so enormous, that they surpass belief. At last Alexander the Sixth, soiled with murders, debaucheries and monstrous incests, having invited to sup two cardinals, whose heirs he wished to become, took the poison destined for them, and ren- dered up his execrable soul to the devil. The people, tired of the insupportable yoke of the bishops of Rome, and mined by the insatiable avidity of the priests, commenced 12 HISTORY OF THE POPES. waking from the lethargic sleep into which they had been plunged. Luther, a monk of the order of the Augustines, sallies from his retreat, rises against Leo the Tenth and the indulgences, draws people and rulers to his new doctrine, strengthens it with all the power of his genius, and .snatches from the tyranny of the popes the half of Europe. Clement the Seventh, by his perfidy, excites the wrath of the emperor, Charles the Fifth. Rome is delivered up to pillage during two en- tire months ; houses are sacked, females vio- lated. The army of the Catholic king commit- ted more atrocities than pagan tyrants had in- vented against the Christians during three hun- dred years. The unfortunate Romans were suspended by the feet, burned, beaten with leathern straps in order to compel them to pay ransoms ; in fine, they were exposed to the most frightful punisliments, in order to expiate the crimes of their pontiif. Catholics and Protestants cover Germany with embarrassments, murders and ruin. The mass is judicially abolished at Stras- burg. Paul the Third had obtained a cardinal's hat by surrendering Julius Farnese to the mon- ster Alexander the Sixth ; became pope — he poisoned his mother, in order to enrich him- self as her heir, and joining a double incest to a second parricide, he put to death one of his sisters through jealousy of her other lovers, and poisoned Bosa Sforza, the husband of his daughter Constance, whom he had corrupted. He launches anathemas against the unfor- tunate Lutherans. His nephews became the executioners of his cruelties, and they boasted publicly of having caused rivers of blood to flow, in which their horses could swim. Dur- ing their butcheries the pope was plunged in his monstrous debaucheries with his daughter Constance. During his reign Ignatius Loyola founds the order of the Jesuits. Calvin, sublime spirit, causes his powerful voice to be heard, and continues the progress of the religious reformation. Julius the Third fulminates his anathemas against the Lutherans, and puts them to death in the most crael manner. Joining depravity to cruelty, he elevates to the cardinalate a young lad employed about his palace m the double capacity of keeper of the monkeys and minion to the pope. Paul the Fourth excites the fury of the king of France against the Protestants, forms an execrable leagxie for their destruction, and fills all Europe with his ravages. At his death the Roman people, freed from his frightful yoke, force the dungeons of the inquisition, set fire to the prisons, knock down the statue of the pope, break off the head and the right hand, drag them during three days through the streets of Rome, and cast them into the Tiber. Pius the Fourth terminates the Council of Trent, and this great event does not produce any sensation among the people. This pontiff, desirous of arresting the downfall of the Holy See, excites the fanaticism of Charles the Ninth and Phillip of Spain, and these two princes meet at Bayonne to devise means to extermi- nate the Calvinists. The beginning of the pontificate of Gregory the Thirteenth was signalized by the most hor- rible of all crimes, the massacre of Saint Bar- tholomew, an execrable plot, brought about by the counsels of Spain and the suggestions of Pius the Fourth. Persecutions, butcheries, and wars had increased astonishingly the number of Calvanists ; Catharine de Medicis, that cruel and infamous Jezebel, not being able to ex- terminate them by force, had recourse to per- fidy. Charles the Ninth, accustomed to cru- elty, and furiously violent, adopted the crimi- nal desires of his mother, and a general mas- sacre of the Protestants was decreed. At midnight, on the eve of Saint Bartholo- mew, the clock of the palace gives the sig- nal; the tocsin is rung at St. Gennain's, and at its doleful sound, soldiers surround the dwellings of the Protestants, and kill in their beds children and old men. They seize the females, and after having violated them, open their wombs and draw out half formed chil- dren, tear out their hearts, and with savage fe- rocity rend them with their teeth and devour them. A thing almost incredible, so horrible is the action, occurred : this Charles the Ninth — this king, to be execrated to all ages, armed with an arquebuss, fired from one of the windows of the Louvre upon the unfortunate who saved themselves by swimming the river. One win- dow still remains, an imperishable monument of the barbarity of kings. Gregory the Thir- teenth addressed his felicitations to Charles on the remarkable success of the enterprise. On the death of the pope, the cardinal of Montalto entered the conclave, old, broken down, and supported upon a crutch. The am- bition of the cardinals concentrated their suf- frages upon this old man, who appeared so nigh to death. They summed up the votes, and scarcely had half of them voted, when, without waiting for the conclusion, Montalto cast his crutch into the midst of the hall, drew himself up to his full height, and thundered forth the Te Deum with a voice so loud and clear, that the vault of the chapel resounded with it. He becomes pope, under the name of Sex- tus the Fifth. Hypocritical and inflexible, he allies himself secretly with queen Elizabeth, and launches anathemas against her king- dom; he then excommunicates the king of Navarre and the prince of Conde, in order to revive in France the forms of fanaticism. Clement the Seventh renews the proud scenes of his predecessors ; he wishes to com- pel Henry the Fourth to come to him in person, with naked feet, in order to undergo a proper discipline, and to learn that he held his crowir as a gift from the pope. But embassadors were received in his stead, and this humiliating ce- remony took place in the church of St. Peter's, at Rome, in the presence of the people. I Gregory the Fifteenth excites Louis the I Thirteenth to persecute the Protestants. He HISTORY OF THE TOPES. 13 renews the war in Bohemia; and not being able to corrupt the people of Geneva, orders the duke of Savoy to destroy them. Under Urban the Eighth, the celebrated Galileo, that old man who had passed seventy years in the study of the secrets of nature, is brought before the inquisition, condemned, cast into prison, and forced to retract this great truth, '' that the earth moves around the sun." Clement the Ninth, of a lofty soul and pro- dieious knowledge, encourages the arts, re- compenses savans, and surrounds the pontih- cai throne with all the lustre of the age. He di- minishes the impo.«ts, employs his treasures in succouring the Venetians and the Isle of Candia against the intidels ; he suppresses the religious orders which pressed heavily on the people, and who, under the guise of piety, abandoned themselves to idleness and de- bauchery. By his eloquence and moderation he ap- peased the interminable quarrels of the Jan- senists and INlollenists. and arrested the ill- regulated ambition of Louis the Fourteenth, who was desolating Europe by his destructive wars. The intrigues of the Jesuits give up to the Turks the Isle oi' Candia ; this gene- rous pope, struck to the heart by the treason of these unworthy priests, launches an ana- thema upon them, and dies, after a reign of three years. The Holy See has never been occupied by a more virtuous man than Clem- ent the Ninth; his memory shouJd be dear to Christianity, and the mind reposes in contem- plating it from the long catalogue of crimes which the history of the popes offers to us. Under Innocent the Eleventh, the persecu- tions against the Lutherans and Calvinists re- commence; churches are demolished, cities destroyed, eighteen thousand Frenchmen are put to death, and the Protestants driven from the kingdom. Innocent the Eleventh, as Gregory the Thir- teenth, had done on the occasion of Saint Bar- tholomew, addresses his congratulations to the king of France, and commands public re- joicings to be made in his honour at Rome. The reign of Clement the Eleventh is agi- tated by religious quarrels. The Jesuits in Chi- na are accused of oflering there the same wor- ship to Confucius as to Jesus Christ. The pope sends the cardinal Journon to Pekin. charged to reform this culpable idolatry. Tliis virtu- ous prelate dies, a victim to his zeal, in the midst of the cruel persecutions which the Je- suits e.vcite against him. This terrible congregation, encouraged by the pope, extends its odious power over king- doms, and inspires terror among all people. Clement the Eleventh publishe." the famous bull Unigenitu^, which excites general indig- nation, and continues religious quarrels up to his death. Benedict the Thirteenth wishes to renew the scandal occasioned by this bull of disorder; but philosophy now commences to make pro- gress, and his pretensions, which at other times would have caused torrents of blood to flow, only excited contempt. Themoderationof Benedict the Fourteenth re- pairs the evils occasioned by his predecessors. He terminates the religious quarrels, repulses the Jesuits, moderates the bull UiiigemlKs, and puts an end to the troubles which were af- liicting France. This pope, one of the lumi- naries of the church, carries into the chair of the pontilis a spirit of toleration, wliich ex- tends a salutary influence every where. The religion ot-Christ is no longer imposed on the world by persecution and fanaticism. Benedict exhibits, in the high functions of the priest- hood, an enlightened mind, great maturity of judgTiient, a profound wisdom which no pas- sions trouble, a perfect disuiterestedness, and an extreme love of justice. He reforms the morals of the clergy, sup- presses orders of monks who were odious to all, employs his treasures in founding hos- pitals, establishing public schools, and reward- ing magniticently the arts. He calls upon all to profit by the advantages of science, and to come forth from the shades of ignorance. Clement the Thirteenth imitates neither the virtues nor the moderation of his prede- cessor; he openly protects the Jesuits, launch- es forth anathemas, and prepares the ruin of the Holy See. The excesses of the Jesuits had tired out the people, their crimes and their ambition affrighted kings, universal hatred demands their expulsion; they are driven from France. They are banished from the states of the king of Spain in Europe, Asia and America; driven from the two Sicilies, Parma and Malta. The order is extenninated in almost all the coun- tries which had been the theatre of its power, in the Philippines, Peru, JMexico, Paraguay and Brazil. France bestows upon the pope Avignon and the county of Venaissin, as an appurtenance to his crown. The king of Naples, on the other hand, seized upon the cities of Benevento and Ponte Corvo. The famous bull in Ccena Domini, a monu- ment of madness and pride, which the popes yearly fulminated from Rome since the time of Paul the Third, is proscribed. The pontifical darkness commences to be dissipated; princes and people no longer prostrate them.--elves at the feet of the servant of servants of God. Clement the Thirteenth sees the colossal power of Rome falling to pieces, and dies of chagrin in not being able to retard its fall. Clement the Fourteenth causes philosophy to mount the seat of the popes. For a short period he retains the pontilical power of the Holy See ; his character and moderation re- storing to him the power which the absurd fanaticism of his predecessors had alienated. Portugal broke with the See of Rome, and wished to have a patriarch of her own. The courts of France, Spain and Naples were in- dignant at the ridiculous excommunication of the duke of Parma, by the Holy See. Venice reformed, without the assent of the pope, the religious communities which impoverished the nation. Poland wishes to diminish the authority of 14 HISTORY OF THE POPES. the Holy See. Even Rome permits its indig- nation to shine forth, and appears to have for- gotten that she had been mistress of the world. Clement, by skilful policy, and consummate wisdom and prudence, arrests this movement The conclave assembles at Venice. After an hundred and four days of intrigue, the Benedictine Chiaramonti was chosen pope, under the name of Pius the Seventh. The pontiff forms an alliance with the re- but the priests, the enemies of toleration, did public, and signs the famous concordat not pardon the pontiff, and he died of poison. Then liberty, that rock of reason, imparted its sublime light to all minds ; men commenced to break the dark chains of superstition. An universal disquiet manifested itself in the masses, a happy presage of moral revolutions. Pius the Sixth wishes to sejze upon the won- derful power of the pontiffs of Rome, and pursues the execrable policy of his predeces- sors. The emperor of Austria. Joseph the Second, stops the increase of convents, which threat- ened to overrun his kingdom, suppresses bi- shoprics, forms seminaries, and protects his states against the rule of the Holy See. The grand duke of Tuscany prepares the same reforms; dissolves the convents, abo- lishes the authority of the nuncios, and pro- hibits his priests from appeali*ig to Rome for judgment. At Naples, a philosophical minister takes from the avarice of the pope indulgences, the collection of beneiices, his nomination to va- cancies. He refuses the tribute of a hackney, richly caparisoned, shod with silver, and car- rving a purse of six thousalid ducats — a dis- graceful tribute, which the nation paid to the pontiff. The sovereign approves the policy of his minister, prohibits the introduction of bulls into his states, orders the bishops to give up the dispensations they had purchased at Rome, takes away from the pope the power of nominating bishops for the Two Sicilies, and drives the internuncio from his kingdom. The French Revolution is at hand. The States General, at Versailles, ordain reforms in the clergy, abolish the monastic vows, and proclaim liberty of conscience. The pope excites bloody troubles in Avig- non, in order to reattach it to the Holy See. His pretensions are repulsed by the National Assembly, which solemnly pronounces the reunion of this city to France. Italy is conquered by the French armies. Pius the Sixth, a coward and a hypocrite, begs for the alliance of the republic. But the justice of a great nation is inflexible. The assassi- nation of general Dupont demands great repa- ration. The pontiff is carried from Rome, conducted to the fortress of Valence, and ter- minates his debased career by cowardice and perfidy. A new era commences for France ; the re- public gives place to the empire, and Napoleon mounts the throne. The pope is forced to go to Paris, in order to consecrate the emperor, and augment the magnificence of this impos- ing ceremony. The weakness of character of Pius the Seventh, delivers him up defenceless to the plots which the hatred of the clergy contrive with the enemies of the emperor. Napoleon, indignant at the machination di- rected against his power by the counsellors of the pope, makes a decree, which changes the government of Rome, declares the reunion of the estates of the church to the empire, and the sovereig-n pontiffs deprived of tem- poral authority. The ancient boldness of the clergy has sur- vived revolutions; Pius the Seventh essays the thunder of the Vatican. The bull of excom- munication is affixed during the night in the streets of Rome ; it calls the people to revolt, excites them to carnage, and designates the French for public vengeance. But Rome, de- livered from the sacerdotal yoke, is deaf to the appeal of fanaticism. Wars succeed in Europe, kingdoms are con- quered, old governments overthrown, and Na- poleon at length falls beneath the blows of the kings whom he has crowned. His catas- trophe changes the destinies of nations, and restores to the pope the inheritance of St. Peter. Pius the Seventh makes a triumphal entree into Rome, and at length dies, surrounded by cardinals, in the pomp and magnificence of power. Since him, three popes have occupied the chair of St. Peter, but their silent passage marks no place in the history of nations. The proud pontiffs, who launched anathe- mas on kingdoms, gave or took away empires, extended over the people the yoke of fanati- cism and terror, now, protected by Austria, protected by the oppressors of the people, basely seek the protection of kings, in order to trample upon the Romans, and maintain upon their head the pontifical tiara. People of Italy, arise from your lethargic slumber — contemplate the capitol — recall the remembrance of ancient Rome and her glori- ous destiny! Let but your legions arouse, and the shades of the great will march at their head to conquer in the name of liberty. PREFACE. The entire want of truthful historians — and the multitude of apochryphal books, both in Greek and Latin — are an impediment to our own judgment of the first ages of Christianity. We are but faithful translators of the opinions of the Fathers of the Church, religiously pursuing the order of transactions, and the obscure style of their writings. But, after we have passed through this epoch of darkness, we shall unrol a long series of extraordinary events and horrible crimes, worthy of fixing attention upon the marvellous history of the Pontiffs of Rome. HISTORY or THE POPES. THE FIRST CENTURY. SAINT PETER, THE FIRST BISHOP OF ROME. [A. D. 1. — Tiberius, Claudius, Caligula and Nero, Emperors.] The birth of Christ — St. Peter, chief of the Apostles, and first Bishop of Rome — He becomes the disciple of Christ — Miraculous draught of Fishes — He walks on the Sea — Character of St. Peter — Punishment of Annanias and Sapphira — He founds the Church at Antioch — St. Peter never at Rome — False Lc"^ends — Impiety of Simon Magus — Pretended contest beticeen him and St. Peter — He is carried off by the Devil — Council of Jerusalem — Error of St. Peter — He is reprimanded by St. Paul — His Travels — Martyrdom of St. Peter established by false tra- ditions— The sect of the Nicolaites, and their infamous habits'. Christ was bom in a little city of Judea ; poor and deserted, a stable was his dwelling, a manger his cradle. The child grew in knowledge : the divine wisdom of his preaching extended his name through Judea, and Jesus became the apostle of the people. An innumerable multitude listened to the eternal truths he taught, and were converted to the new doctrine. The princes of Judea pursued with fury this glorious apostle, who elevated himself against the vices and corruptions of the age, against the pride of the great, the debauche- ries and luxury of the priests. The man of God was seized by their fierce satellites, con- demned to humiliating punishments, and fixed to the cross as an infamous criminal. But his precepts, preserved by his disciples, have traversed ages and revolutions ; his sub- lime morality has spread itself through the inii verse, and Christ has become the God of nations. The tir.'it of the apostles of Jesus was Simon Peter, and with him commences the succes- sion of tlie liishops of Rome. Simon was born in Hethsaida, a small town of Gallilee, upon the bank of lake Genesaret. A fisherman by occupation, the products of his labour supported his family. He had a brother named Andrew, who, being a disciple of John the Baptist, had heard fiom his mas- ter an eulogium on Jesus of Nazareth. He learned from him that this extraordinary man was the Messiah, predicted by the prophets -and so long waited for by the Jewish nation. Andrew communicated this great news to Simon his brother, and went with him to Jesus; and Christ, regarding Simon, gave to him the sirname of Peter, which in the Syriac signifies a stone or rock. The two brothers passed the rest of the day with the Saviour, and became his disciples. It is thought they were with him at the wedding at Cana. Some months after, Jesns, returjiing from Jerusalem, encount(>red them on the borders of lake Genesaret, where they were mending their nets. He entered into their boat, and told Simon to cast their nets into the sea. Simon ob- served that they had laboured unsuccessfully all night; but. nevertheless, he did as he was ordered, and their nets were filled with so great a quantity of fish, that two boats were loaded with them. Simon, whom we shall call Peter, surprised at this miracle, cast himself at the feet of the Messiah, begiiing him to depart from him, for he was a sinner. His humility the more endeared him to Jesus, mIio g-ave him the first place among his disciples. One day, when the apostles were traversing the lake of Tiberias, they saw Jesiis, whom 15 16 HISTORY OF THE POPES. thej' had left upon the bank, walking to them on the waves. Surprised at this prodigy, they took him for a phantom, and Peter cried out, " Lord, if it is you, command that I shall come to you, walking upon the water. Christ replied, "Come." ' At this Peter jumped from the bark, and walked upon the water as it had been land. But his faith not being strong enough; he commenced sinking, and would have been drowned, if he had not called to his Master. The Saviour, taking him by the hand, said to him, " Man of little faith, why ha.st thou doubted 1" St. Peter afterwards displayed the most ar- dent zeal for his INIaster. Jesus seeing that many of his disciples, rebuffed by the severity of his morality, had abandoned him, address- ed himself to the twelve apostles, " and you, why do you not also leave me ?" Peter re- plied in the name of all, " Whither should we go Lord ? you have the words of eternal life ; we believe and know that you are the Messiah, the Son of God." On another occa- sion, Jesus demanding from his apostles, whom they believed him to.be, Peter was the first to r-jply ; " You are the Word, the Son of the living God." The Saviour said to him, " You are most happy, Simon, son of Jonas, for flesh and blood have not revealed this unto you, but my Father, who is in heaven. And I say unto you, thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it ; and I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; and all that you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed in heaven, and all that yon shall bind upon earth shall be bound in heaven." This reply of Jesus to St. Peter has given rise to three difficulties, concern- ing which theologians have for a long time disputed. The first is founded on these words : " Thou art Peter and on this rock will I build my church." The second arises from the promise of the Saviour,- in which, in speaking of his church, he says, '• the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The Catholics afhrm that these words give to the pope the privilege of infal- libility. The Protestants, on the other hand, maintain, that a church, which always chooses its chief from among men subject to error and falsehood, cannot claim for its pontiff the di- vine wisdom, which is never deceived. The third arises out of the power which the priests claim for themselves of absolving sin- ners. The Protestants recog-nize none but God alone as having power to absolve men of their sins, and regard as an intolerable abuse the indulgences granted by the bishops of Rome. After the glorious confession of faith made by St. Peter, and the sublime promises made to his apostles, Jesus foretold to his disciples that he was about to sufler death at Jerusa- lem. Peter represented to him that the Son of God could not die, and the Lord called him satan, imposed silence upon him, and made him walk behind the apostles. This mortifi- cation was the only punishment inflicted on him, and it caused him to lose none of the favour of his master, who chose him to be a witness of his transliguration. On the eve of the day on which Jesus was about to suffer death, Peter and Jolm prepared the supper. The Saviour, being about to wash the feet of his disciples, the chief of the apos- tles refused to submit to this act of humility on the part of his Master ; but his resistance ceased, as soon as the Messiah declared to him that he could not have a part in the king- dom of heaven unless he submitted to this ablution. Then Peter presented to Jesus not only his feet, but also his hands and his head. During this last supper, the Saviour said to Peter, that the devil had demanded leave to try him, but that he prayed his Father that his faith should not fail him. The supper finished, Jesus went forth, and Peter asked him whither he was going. "I go," said the Lord to him, " whither you cannot follow me." but Peter replied, " Lord I am ready to go with you to prison, or to death itself." A generous resolve, in which he did not per- severe long ; for though he had the courage to cut off the ear of Malchus, a servant of the high priest Caiphas, he had the cowardice to deny his Master three times before a servant maid, who asked him if he was not also one of the disciples of Jesus. He at once effaced this mark of his weakness by the sincerity of his repentance, and by the abundance of his tears, and became from thenceforth the most zealous preacher of the Christian faith. The members of the new church having then but one heart and one soul, all their goods were in common. Those who possessed lands or houses sold them, and brought the money to the apostles for distribution to the poor. It happened that a man named Annanias, in con- cert with Sapphira, his wife, having sold an inheritance, retained a part of the price, and brought the rest to the apostles. But Peter, enlightened by the divine Spirit, reproached them for their fault, and they fell dead at his feet. It would be difficult to decide upon the year in which the church of Antioch was founded ; nevertheless there can be no doubt that St. Peter took up his residence in that city, of which he has always been considered the lirst bishop. After having preached some time at An- tioch he returned to Jerusalem, at the period at which the famine foretold by the prophet Agabus, was beginning to atflict the country. Then Herod Agrippa, wishing to conciliate the affection of the Jews, by affecting a great zeal for the law, excited aguinst the church a per- secution more terrible than that which follow- ed the martyrdom of Stephen. St. James, brother of John the Evangelist, was one of the first victims. Peter himself was cast into prison and condemned to death ; but an angel of the Lord opened the gates of his prison, broke his chains, and set him at liberty. From that time to the council of Jerusalem, a period of about seven years, the HISTORY OF THE POPES. 17 Scriptures are entirely silent in regard to the actions of St. Peter. It is most likely he was employed in revisiting the churches he had founded in Asia, and confirming the faithful in the faith. It is supposed that he then came to Rome, to combat idolatry • and the orthodox place the time of his first journey towards the end of the forty-eighth year of Jesus Christ. Others i\x this celebrated time during the first year of the emperor Claudius, or at the commencement of the reigTi of Nero. Before discussing the time of its occuring- it would be best to prove the actual fact of tne journey. There is no men- tion of it in the New Testament ; and if it is alleged that the early writings are cited against the Protestants on this subject, they will reply that it is not the first error they have autho- rized. In fine, the disagreements which we find in the chronology of different authors, who have spoken of this journey, cause great doubts in relation to it. We are compelled to admit the force of rea- soning of the Protestants, who steadily deny the existence of the journey of St. Peter to Rome. They deny also to the pope a primacy over his colleagues, and fortify their position by these words of Jesus to his apostles : '■ He who would be first among you, let him be the last. Nations have princes who rule them, but it shall not be so with you."' When one shall undertake to prove that St. Peter was the prince of the apostles, and that he had authority over all the church, the Protestants have a right to • demand that it should be demonstrated, that he established the exercise of his jurisdiction at Rome, and that the popes have succeeded to all his privileges, how far soever they may have departed from the sublime precepts of the evangelist. Besides, as far as we can judge from the last chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, and from all the Epistles of Saint Paul, we must be- lieve that he came into the capital of the empire before St. Peter; but the pontiffs have a great interest in maintaining the con- trary, and persuading the world that they are the heirs general of St. Peter and his im- mediate successors. They have even dared to affirm that the papal seat of this apostle was of wood, and they expose it to view in a church to the veneration of the people ; a I'alsity not worthy of being refuted. Let us, however, now glance through the opinions of sacred authors in relation to this pretended journey of St. Peter to Rome. According to their legends there was, in the cajjital of the empire, a celebrated impos- ter called Simon the Magician, who dared to announce himself as the eternal father. In T\ re he had procured a prostitute named Helen;i, whom he proclaimed as the thought or word which the rebellious angels had re- tained upon earth, causing her to pass from one body to another of various females. He assured the world that she was the famous Helen of Troy, and that those who believetl in her would obtain salvation. He maintained, Vol. I. C with matchless impudence, at Jerasalem, that he was the son of God ; at Samaria, that he was the Father, and among other nations, that he was the Holy Spirit. Such was the doctrine, as ridiculous as impious, of Simon the Magician. Tradition assures us that this imposter came to Rome during the rei<^n of the emperor Claudius; and Justin Martyr, in his second apology, reproaches the Romans with having adored him as a god, and raised a statue to him with this inscription : " To Simon, the Holy God." Baronius observes, that during the reigir of Gregory the Thirteenth, there M'as found in an island of the Tiber, a stone on which was engraved this inscription, '• To Si- mon, Holy God." There is little question that the ancient Romans raised a statue to a god whom they named indifferently, sometimes Saucus, or Sangus, Fidius and Semo. Justin, deceived by the early Christians, may have imagined that this statue was erected in honor of Simon the Magician. This conjecture has to our mind the force of proof, and destroys entirely the fable of the contest between St. Peter and Simon. The Legends of the Saints affirm that the apostle went to Jentsalem to combat the ma- gician, and that having convinced him of false- hood in the presence of the people and the emperor Nero, he commanded an angel to strike him, and that the impostor perished miserably. Others say, that Simon vaunted himself on having performed more miracles than St. Peter, and that he raised himself in the air, borne up by the devil ; but that the true apostles Peter and Paul, having prayed, in- voked the name of Jesus; and that the de- mons, frightened, dropped the magician, whose legs were broken by the fall. If this fable had any foundation, and the Romans had seen Simon perish at the prayer of the apostle, would they not rather have erected a statue to him than to the magician. Thus the proof which is dra^^^l from this supposed performance, entirely destroys it. Besides, the contradictions ^^hich are to be found in the different authors upon whom reliance is placed to sustain it, proves that tliis journey is a pious fraud. The first Epistle of St. Peter is dated from Babylon, which has led some visionary to declare that he gave this name to the capital of the empire. A short time after the apostle wrote his first epistle, the emperor Claudius drove the Jews from Rome, because they excited violent seditions on account of the doctrines of Christ. It is supposed that the edict of the empeior obliged Peter to return to Judea; for he was at Jerusalem when St. Paul, deputed by the church of Antioch. came thither with Barnabas and Titus to con.^ult the apostles and elders. Some converted Jews maintained the necessity of circumci- sion in order to salvation. They had been reduced by Cerinthns, a false brother and false apostle, who, through blind zeal, excited re- liirious quarrels, and desired to exact from the faithful all the obser\'ances of the jNIosaic 18 HISTORY OF THE POPES. law. The apostles resolved to assemble, in order to deliberate concerning it- and they formed the first Christian assembly, which madje statutes to aid the scruples of weak consciences. Not only did the apostles and priests take part in the council, but the mere faithful voted, and the question was decided by the unanimous voice of the church of Jerusalem. This usage is now abolished, and the pontiffs of Rome order the people to follow blindly the decrees which are prescribed for them. St. Paul and St. Barnabas returned to An- tioch, Avhere Peter joined them soon after. He conformed to the decree of the council of Jerusalem, living as the Gentile converts, with- out regarding the distinctions prescribed by the law. This apostle was so little infalli- ble, that some Jewish Christians having come there from Jerusalem, he separated himself from the Gentiles, and no more ate with them; which induces us to suppose that the ob- servance of the law was necessary, at least for the Jews. ''He destroyed to some extent that which he himself had built up in the council of Jerusalem, and overthrew the dis- cipline which he had established." But St. Paul set him right, and resisted him, as he wrote to the Galatians he had done. St. Peter received this remonstrance with admirable mildness and humility. He did not pride himself upon his primacy ; he did not consider that St. Paul had persecuted the church; was his inferior, and younger than himself in the apostolate. He yielded to the remonstrance addressed to him, and changed his sentiments, or rather his conduct. This first pontiff did not arrogate to himself the right of imposing his will upon the faithful, and of constraining the church to submit to his decisions. Having given a recital of the actions of St. Peter, according to the Scriptures, we will relate the different traditions which exist concerning this apostle. Lactanus pretends that he made a second journey to Rome, twenty-five years after the passion of the Saviour ; it is this which has given rise to the error of the twenty-five years in his pontifi- cate. He adds, that he made a last journey to Jerusalem towards the year 62, in order to nominate a successor to St. James the Less, who was the first bishop of that city; ana that he returned from thence to Rome, where he continued to preach with success. We know, however, nothing positive in relation to this first chief of the church, from the year 51 to the time of his death, a period of fifteen years. The orthodox pretend that he re- ceived the crown of martyrdom as Christ had predicted, but there is no proof that his blood was shed at Rome, despite the assertions of Baronius, Fleury, anJ others. Baillet affirms that the two apostles, Peter and Paul, were martyrized on the same day, and conducted to the prison of Maraertin, -which was at the foot of the capitol. But, according to the view of a Benedictine, who resided a long time in the capitol of the Christian world, it ap- pears that the place still designated under this name resembles very little a prison, and is opposite to one or two ancient sewers, through which the filth of the city was dis- charged. The general opinion in regard to the martyrdom of St. Peter is, that he was crucified, head downwards. They fix the pe- riod of his death in the year 66. St, Aug-us- tin says that this apostle went to his punish- ment, exhibiting great marks of weakness. The second epistle which he wrote before his death, presents the same uncertainty as his first letter from Babylon. We are even ig-norant of the year in which this preciousj treasure was entrusted to the church. It is addressed to the faithful dispersed throughout Asia, Pontus, Cappadocia and the neighbour- ing provinces. It recommends to them to follow the morality of the prophets and apos- tles, to preserve themselves from false priests who deny Jesus Christ, blaspheme the Di- vinity, and abandon themselves to the most infamous debaucheries. The apostle thus de- signates the Nicholaites, who took their name from Nicholas, one of the seven first deacons of Jerusalem, the chief of a sect in Avhich the men despise marriage, and deliver themselves up to the most mostrous acts of sodomy. These heritics ate without scruple the food oflered to idols ; they maintained that Christ was not the Son of God the Father : that the Creator had committed the chief power to the goddess Barbelo, who inhabited a heaven eight times higher than the Christian heaven. They pretended that she gave birth to the God Jaldabaoth or Sabaoth, who inhabited the seventh heaven, and who cried out to the in- ferior gods, " I am the first and the last, and there exists no other ruler besides me." They published books, and pretended reve- lations under the name of Jaldabaoth; and assigned barbarous titles to a multitude of princes and powers, whom they located in every heaven. These fanatics considered the divine acts and persons, the Trinitj^, the Virgin, original siuj the incarnation of Christ, and even the dogmas of religion, as mysteries, of which they gave explanations, frequently ridiculous, and sometimes sublime. To the thinking man and the philosopher, the existence of the Nicolaites, in the first ages of Christianity, is an irrefragable proof that the Catholic religion has not been established in an immutable manner by its author, and that it must undergo an organization which requires many ages to accomplish. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 19 ST. LINUS, THE SECOND POPE. [A. D. 67. — Nero, Galea, Vitellius, and Otho, Emperors. J There is nothing positive in the first ages concerning the pontifical see. The chronolo- gy of authors is full of astonishing variations, and there is no uniformity among them in relation to the order of succession of the first bishops of Rome The wisest part is to follow the opinions which make St. Linus the succes- sor of the apostle Peter, in the government of the church. If we can believe the pontifical books, St. Linus was of Tuscan origin, and his father was named Hereulan. He was invested with the apostolical ministry at the same period as St. Peter, which is an irrefutable truth, that this apostle was not the sole bishop of Rome, and could not pretend to the title of universal bishop. Other historians affirm that St. Linus, Anaclet and Clement, were all three charged •with the government of the faithful, and that St. Peter had fixed upon Clement for his suc- cessor, in preference to Linus and Anaclet ; but Clement, who was without ambition, fearing lest the faithful, who had been under the charge of his colleagues, would not submit to his authority, modestly drew back. Anaclet followed his example, and Linus found himself alone in the aovernment of the church, after the death of the apostles Peter and Paul. There is no agreement as to the duration of the pontificate of St. Linus, and all his actions are buried in obscurity. He died towards the year 67, and was the first bishop of the church of Rome, in the opinion of the ancients, who fi.xed the duration of his reign at eleven years, nine months and five days ; but in this first age of the church, every thing is uncertain. As long as St. Linus laboiired for the increase of the faith, religion enjoyed great tranquillity. During his pontificate, a law was passed pro- hibiting females from appearing in the con- gregations without having the head veiled. We must accord him honour for this rule, which modesty has perpetuated. At this period Christians were not allowed to assemble in churches for the e.vercise of their reliirion. A most common opinion is that St. Linus received the crown of martyr- dom towards the close of the year 78, the du- ration of his episcopate only counting from the death of St. Peter. BaiHet avows that this opinion hasdifiiculties. and that St. Linus did not survive Peter but a year or two, or that he even died before that apostle. Father Page believes that he perished in the fright- ful persecution of Nero, and that he was con- demned to death by the consul Saturnin. after having delivered his daughter, who was pos- sessed of a devil. We should observe in the midst of these contradictions, that Linus has only been hon- oured in the church as a martyr since the ninth century, and that before this epoch St. Tflcsphore was ri'^nirded as the first saint who perished by the sword. Writers differ as to the order of succession to St. Linus. Some say that St. CJet succeeded him. Others, that it was Clement who became the immediate successor of St. Peter. All those variations cast great obscurity over history, and hinder us from arriving at the tnith. Two works. Avritten in Greek, on the mar- tyrdoms of St. Peter and St. Paul, for the edification of the eastern churches, are attri- buted to him. But scholars know that these books, which are full of gross errors and ridi- culous fables, are not the productions of this bishop. Platinus affirms with a singular good ^aith, that Linus wrote a life of St. Peter, in which he speaks of the combat of this apostle with Simon the Magician. Some years before the death of St. Linus, Jerusalem was taken by Titus. This unfor- tunate city, delivered over to the fury of re- ligious wars, overrun by bands of fanatics, who murdered old men, violated females and delivered themselves up to the most fright- ful crimes, filled the measure of its disor- ders by revolting against the Roman em- pire. Titus marched at the head of his troops to conquer the rebels. He invaded Pales- tine, attacked Jersusalem, rendered himself successively master of the first and second walls which surrounded the city ; but at the last he met with so desperate a resistance, that he was obliged, after having tried seven assaults, to undertake a regular siege. AU communication between the city and coun- try was intercepted. Soon provisions failed and famine began ;. but the hatred which the Jews entertained for the Romans was so great, that they resisted the horrors of famine, and sustained themselves with the flesh of horses and dogs; when this failed, they seized upon every thing. They ate straw, hay, even the leather of their saddles. They even devoured dead bodies. It is related that dur- ing the seige, a noble woman named Mary, the daughter of Eleazar, not being able to re- sist the tortures of famine, roasted her own child ; she had eaten the half of it, when a band of soldiers attracted by the smell, en- tered her house, and threatened her with death if she did not deliver to them the food .«hc had concealed. This unfortunate mother then opened the door of an apartment where were the remains of this horrible repast, and said to them : '• Lo. I have preserved for you the best part, take it," and immediately fell dead. The Romans now made a new assault, and carried the third wall. All the inhabitants were put to the sword, the temple destroyed, the city entirely razed, and, according to the usage of the Romans, the ploughshare was passed over it. Titus left but a span of the western wall, and the towers Hippiqus. Phazael and ^Nlariara- ne, that they might serve to transmit to future generations the recollection of his victories. 20 HISTORY OF THE POPES. SAINT CLET, THE THIRD POPE. [A. D. 79. — Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian, Emperors.] Birth of St. Clct — Actions attributed to him — Falsehood of the priests, in the falsification of the texts of the Evangelist — St. Luke married — Death of St. Clet — Fcdsc decretals. The succession of St. Clet or Anaclet is very 1 uncertain. Some authors place this pontiff after St. Clement, but this is not the best es- tablished opinion. He was an Italian ; his , father's name Emilianus ; he came to Rome during the reign of Nero. The apostles con- . verted him to the Christian faith, and soon ' took him out of the ranks of the disciples to associate him Avith them in the holy minis- try. Some fix the duration of his episcopate at twelve years and some months. Father | Pagi, following the pontifical of Damasus, af- firms that he only governed the church of ' Rome six years. The actions of this bishop are concealed in profound obscurity ; but there is no doubt of his holiness, and his zeal for the propagation of Christianity. They attribute to him the ordi- nation of twenty-five priests, and the division of Rome into parishes, (that is, of the houses in which the faithful assembled to celebrate divine worship.) The Chronicle adds, that he established seven deaconates. The pontifical of Damasus furnishes us with these particu- lars, and insinuates that the church of Rome had been carried on ujd to this time by bishops and priests, without deacons. St. Luke, the author of an evangelical book and the Acts of the Apostles, lived at this epoch, and his wri- , tings teach us, was married. But the bishops of Rome have falsified the text of Scripture, in order to destroy an authority so imposing, in favor of the marriage of priests. Though the church honours St. Clet as a mar- tyr, it is nevertheless probable that he died in peace towards the year 90 of Jesus Christ. Seven hundred years after the death of this bishop, a knave advised them to attribute to him the decretals which we yet possess. It was about this time that the apostle St. John was, according to the sacred chronolo- gists, cast into a cauldron of boiling oil by order of the cruel Domitian. They gravely relate that God, not having destined John to a martyr's death, he came forth from the cauldron without being in the least injured. Nevertheless this miracle did not put an end to the persecutions of Domitian, and the apos- tle was exiled to the isle of Patmos, one of the Sporades of the Archipelago, where he composed his Apocalypse or prophetic docu- ments, which he addressed to the seven prin- cipal churches. After the death of Domitian, John obtained permission to return to Ephesus, where he wrote his Epistles and his Evangelist, which fonn the last part of the sacred writings re- cognized by the councils. SAINT CLEMENT THE FIRST, FOURTH POPE. [A. D. 91. — Domitian, Nerva, and Trajan, Emperors.] Birth of St. Clement — Visions of Hermas — Popes Zozimus and Jerome contradictory in relation to the martyrdom of Clement — His principles in the desert — Apochryphal books. Clement was a Roman ; his father, whose name was Faustus, inhabited the Celian quar- ter. Some authors call him a relative of the Caesars. This error is founded on the re- semblance between his name and that of the consul S. Flavins Clement, nephew of the em- peror Vespasian, who was put to death by the orders of his cousin Domitian. The pontiff called himself a child of Jacob, which in- duces us to suppose he was a Jew rather than a Gentile. The life of Clement is found in the so-called constitutions of the apostles; but these works are not authentic, although they contain some truths which are imbibed from the tradition of the first ages. They attribute to this pope the appointment of seven notaries, directed to write the acts of the martyrs. The emperor Domitian having determined to declare war against the Christian religion, Hermas was advised of it in several visions, whose recital is found in the book of the pas- tor, and he received an order to give informa- tion to the pope, in order that he might advise the other churches, and fore-strengthen them against the tempest. Clement continued to govern the church during the persecution, and lived into the third year of Trajan's reign, which is the 100th year of Jesus Christ. Ru- fin and pope Zozimus bestow on him the title of martyr, and the church in its canons places him among the number of saints who have shed their blood in its behalf. But Euse- bius and Jerome induce us to suppose that he died in peace. St. Ireneus, towards the close of the twelfth century, in an enumeration of the first popes, also recognizes Telesphorus as the first pope HISTORY OF THE POPES. 21 who had been crowned with glorious martyr- dom. An ancient history, whose correctness how- ever is very doubtful, relates that St. Clement was banished by Trajan into the Chersonesus, beyond the Eu\ine sea, and that by means of his prayers he caused a fountain to How out of a rock, which furnished water to the other confessors. He remained about a year in the desert, and converted all the inhabitants of the country. After this Trajan sent thither an officer, by whose orders Clement was cast into the sea with an anchor attached to his neck. The next day the waters retired more than a league from the shore, and discovered to the faithful a temple of marble, under which they built the tomb of the martyr j and every year the miracle is renewed on the day of the fes- tival of the saint. This extraordinary legend has been adopted by Platinus and father Pagi. The great reputation of Saint Clement has caused them to attribute to him all the wri- tings which are esteemed the most ancient, after the canonical Scriptures, and which have no certain author. They still produce in his name five pontifical letters ; the first two are addressed to James the brother of Christ ; the third to all the bishops, priests and faithful ; the fourth to Julius and Julianus; and the fifth to the Christians of Jerusalem. But all are aprochryphal, as well as the canons of the apostles and the apostolic constitutions, which are a collection of all the discipline of the church. He passes also for the author of the recognitions which contain a pretended his- tory of his life ; the author recounts many jomeys of St. Peter, and relates at length his dispute with Simon the Magician. This work is also called the Itinerares of St. Peter. During the reign of Clement died the vene- rable BarnabaSj an apostle of the second order, and author of a very singular doctrine which he divides into two parts. The first was di- rected against the Jews ; the second contains the prophecies which appear to be drawn froiiL the Indian doctrine of the metempsychosis, which had been carried into Greece by the Pythagorians. St. Barnabas explains, by moral allegories, the prohibitions of the Jewish law with re- gard to the animals called impure. "The hog," says he, "designates the voluptuous and ungrateful, who are not grateful to their masters but in their need ; birds of prey are the powerful, who live without labour at the expense of the people ; the fish which remain at the bottom of the water, figure impenitent sinners ; the hare and the weasel are sj-mbols of impurities ; the animals which ruminate, and which we are permitted to eat, represent the just, who meditate upon the precepts which God gives them ; their cloven foot teaches us that whilst travelling through this world they wait for a future life." In speaking of Genesis he affirms " that the six days of the creation represent as many periods of a thousand years ; and that at the seventh period, which is figured by the Sab- bath, Christ will come to judge the living and the dead, and time shall be accomplished. Then (adds he) the sun. the moon and the stars, shall be destroyed, and the commence- ment of the eighth day will be the aurora of a new creation." In speaking of the future ages of the church he makes this singular prophecy: "It shall enter upon an oblique path, the road of eter- nal death and punishment ; the vices which lose souls shall appear; idolatry, audacity, pride, hypocrisy, duplicity of heart, adaitery, incest, apostasy, magic, avarice, murder, shall be the portion of its ministers ; they will be- come the corrupters of the works of God. the adorers of the rich, the oppressors of the poor." They attribute to St. Barnabas the foundation of the church at Milan. 22 HISTORY OF THE POPES, POLITICAL IIISTOEY OF THE FIRST CENTURY. The Emperor Tiberius — His hypocrisy — The vices of Caligula — He names his horse as Consul- Violence of Itis passion for Cesonia — He is assassinated by Cassias — The Emperor Claudius — His faults — He is poisoned by Agrippina — Infamous Excesses of Nero — He puts to death his mother and his preceptor Seneca — He viarries a man — Delivers himself up in open da.y and before his Court to the most shameless debauchery — His cruel persecution of the CJuistians — He drives his chariot through Itis garden by the light of human torches — The burning of Rome — Death of Nero — Character of Galba — He is massacred — Otho seduces the people by his liberality and mounts the throne — His abandoned morals — Vitellius — His cruelty and glut- tony— Vespasian declared Emperor — His good qualities — His defects — The Emperor Titus — The vices of Domitian — His cruelty — A new persecution against the Christians — New tor- tures— Good qualities of Nerva — His liberality to the poor — He sells his palace in order not to be a charge on the people. Tiberius reigned at Rome when the church was sprinkled by the blood of Jesus Christ. It is pretended that after having taken cogni- zance of the proceedings against Christ, the emperor proposed to the senate to receive him into the number of their gods. This prince, endowed with extreme dissimu- lation, understood j^erfectly the art of govern- ing men, and by his art he extended his sway over Rome and the empire ; he knew how to accustom his subjects to slavery, and received from them eulogiums on his mildujess, whilst he was exercising his tyramry and his despo- tism with the greatest violence, but always under the appearance of justice. The infamous CaligTila succeeded Tiberius. This prince, in order to insult the senate, wish- ed to bestow the honours of the consulate on his horse. He built a temple which he so- lemnly dedicated, and in which he immolated peacocks, Numidian fowls, and birds of rarest plumage. His cruelty was even greater than his other vices. In the Caesars of the em- peror Julian, he is treated of as a ferocious beast. This monster had compassed the death of Tiberius, pushed on by ambition and a desire to reign, in order that he might plunge with impunity into the most horrible excesses. Cruel eveh in the arms of his mistresses, he threatened Cesonia, whilst in the midst of the excess of his lust, "to employ tortures to ex- tract from her by what artifices she made him love her with so much ardour." CaligTila united in his own person the vices of all men, and had no virtues ; but it is more easy to imagine the horrors of such a reigii than to describe them. At length he was killed by Cassius, surnamed Chersees, the captain of his guard, and chief of a conspiracy against his life. The entire people rejoiced in the death of the emperor, and gave evi- dence thereof by fetes and rejoicings. This prince had been so basely servile towards Tiberius, and so cruel to those who had given him the crown, that the citizens said of him, '• No one could make a better slave and more treacherous master." It would have been very stupid to have shed tears for one who paid fifty thousand crowns to a coachman as a new-year's gift, and condemned an inno- cent man to pay a like sum. He was so shameless as to mourn that his reign had not been signalized by some horrible calamity, as an earthquake, a famine or a pestilence, and he dared to say, " I wish the Roman peo- ple had but one head, that I might cut it off at a blow," — an execrable thought, which kmgs alone are capable of forming. The emperor Claudius, the successor of Caligula, was irresolute, credulous, timid and cruel. He loved without restraint wine and women, and when intoxicated, surrendered without reflection and judgment every thing that his courtezans demanded of him. His memory was treacherous, his mind weak, and his heart so base that he suffered CaligTila to spit upon and horsewhip him. He massa- cred his friends, domestics and relatives, and became the slave of his freedmen and mis- tresses. At length Agrippina poisoned him, and he died on the 13th of October, Aiuio Domini 55. Nero having come to the throne, improved upon his vices, and committed the greatest crimes without any sense of shame. We cannot read his history without being struck with horror. He bathed his hands in the blood of all persons of distinction, and put to death Agrippina his mother, and Seneca his preceptor. Incestuous and pederast, he mar- ried a man, and had the shamlessness to com- mit in open day, and before all his court, ac- tions which the obscurity of the night conceals in legitimate marriages. In order to enjoy the frightful spectacle of the burning of the ancient city of the Dardanians, he spread his cohorts of slaves, armed with torches, through all the streets of the city, with orders to tire it in every quarter. During this frightful incen- diarism, Nero, crowned with flowers, and sur- rounded by courtezans, sung to the accompa- niment of his own lyre the verses of Virgil on the burning of Troy. The flames devoured the ten quarters of the capital of the world, and only left in the suburbs some houses half burned. This fire took place on the 19lh of July, in the year 64 of our era. In order to cast off on the innocent the pub- lic hatred which rested on him, Nero accused the Christians with being the authors of the conflagration, they having become odious as the professors of a new religion. They ar- HISTORY OF THE POPES. 23 rested some of the faithful, whom they accused of many crimes without examining the truth, and the judges condemned them to death, not as incendiaries, but as the enemies of the human race. They joined cruel insults to their punishment ; they covered them with the skins of beasts, that they might be torn to pieces by dogs; they were hung on crosses, or affixed to stakes, which pierced their necks, and in this position they clothed them in gar- ments covered with pitch or other combustible matter, which they set on fire, in order that the victims should serve as burning torches to give light by night. Nero made an exhibition in his gardens, through which he himself drove a chariot by the lights of these human torches. Historians speak indignantly of the cruelty of this prince, who sacrificed thousands of men to his execrable tyranny. It was the first per- secution of the church by the emperors. In the end, the Christians regarded it as honour- able, saying with Tertullian, '-What has Nero ever condemned that was not good ]" His atrocities at length excited a general revolt ; the people penetrated into the palace of the Caesars, demanding with loud cries the death of the tyrant. Then Nero, despairing of escap- ing from his enemies, and fearing a cruel end, ordered one of his slaves to pierce him with his sword. On the death of this monster, Galba, who had taken up arms on the news of the revolt of Vindex in Gaul, was elevated to the throne. This prince, broken down with age, as weak in mind as in body, abandoned the govern- ment of the empire to his freedmen. which caused Tacitus to say that his reign was pre- carious. His great age and his infirmities prevented him from exercising the functions of supreme chief of the state, and he resolved to adopt the young Piso, more illustrious even for his virtues and misfortunes than his birth. But Otho, who had so disgraced him- self by permitting Poppea his wife to become the mistress of Nero, laid claims to the honour of the adoption. He gained the army by his liberality, and putting himself at the head of his partisans, stormed the palace of Galba, massacred the unfortunate old man, and caused himself to be proclaimed emperor. This infamous usurper was a voluptuary, pro- digal, weak, effeminate, and was cherishixl only by the wicked on account of the simi- larity of his morals to those of Nero. At the last, however, Otho effaced the pre- i'udices disadvantageous to his courage, which is conduct had produced, by a glorious end, which a poet has placed above that of Cato. Vitellius, though altogether incapable of reigning, was named emperor by the amiy of Germany, which conducted him in triumph to Kome. Tliis prince aliandoned himst-lf to every vice, but especially to those of intempe- rance antl cruelty. In a repast given to him by his brother, two thousand of tlie mo.st exqui- site fish, and seven thousand of the rarest birds, wore served up. The roads between the two seas were continually traversed by his purveyors. In order to attain to fortune or honours, it was only necessary to discover the means of appeasing his appetite, which was not only insatiable but disgusting. At the sacrifices he seized upon the half-cooked en- trails of tlie victims; and in his journeys he devoured all the broken and half-eaten food which he found in the taverns. Insensible and cruel, he shed blood for the pleasure of seeing it flow; and put to death, under various pretexts, the old companions of his studies. What must have been the frightful state of Rome and of the empire, after having suffered in the same year from the tyranny of Otho and the cruelty of Vitellius ? Vespasian, whom Nero had sent into Pales- tine to quell the rebellious Jews, having learned that the empire was torn to pieces in the west by a civil war, resolved to avail him- self thereof to seize the government. He united his legions to those of IMucianus, and drove Vitellius from Rome. Becoming master of the empire, he re-established military dis- cipline, which the civil wars and the debauch- eries of the emperors had dreadfully corrupted, and applied himself Avith equal zeal to reform the laws of the state. Vespasian was the enemy of courtiers, loved the truth, and had no secret enmities. Naturally kind, he de- tested the cruelty of his predecessors ; but his good qualities were tarnished by liis passion for women, which led him to commit acts of violence ; and by his sordid avarice, which caused him to sell justice. Titus, his son, succeeded him, and was the best of princes. He is called '• the delight of the human race." If in the course of the day he had found no occasion of doing good, he is related to have said mournfully these beautiful words, worthy of the greatest men of the republic: "I have lost a day." He was the enemy of vengeance^ and showed himself as virtuous, as those who preceded him were cruel and corrupt. When he died the Romans said of him, "that he ought never to have lived at all, or to have lived for ever." Domitian, the son of Vespasian and brother of Titus, inherited his sceptre but not his vir- tues ) for Providence rarely gives good kings, as if to indicate to nations that the supreme power ought never to be entrusted to the hands of a single man. History teaches us that Domitian was proud, vain, presumptuous, avaricious, prodigal and cruel. He excited a long and inhuman persecution ag-ainst the church, in which a great number of Christians were put to death; others were bani.shed into the island of Patmos, where St. John wrote his Visions or his Apocalypse. This cruel emperor took great pleasure in causing men to be devoured by dogs. Every day almost some senators were put to death; and the hands of tho brave men who had refused to aid him in the civil wars, or who had followed him with a bad grace, were cut off by his orders. At last, by a new method of torture, of which we have no knowledixe, he caused his friends to be burned in the part which \vas ofl^ered to Pollio. 24 HISTORY OF THE POPES. Petronius Secundusand Parthcnius, leaders of the guard, assassinated Domitiaii; and de- clared Marcus Cocceius Nerva emperor. This prince was benevolent, generous, modest and sincere. Martial, in the Caesars of Julian, pro- iiomices him the mildest of sovereigns; and Silenus has nothing with which to reproach him. Appolonius, attached to his court, bears witness, m Pliilostatus, that he never saw him abandon himself to pleasure ; and according to Xiphilin, this emperor said of himself, " that he did not find himself, on a self-exami- nation, culpable of any thing which would prevent him from living in repose and safety, if he quitted the empire." He restored to the citizens of Rome all the wealth which he found in his palace, and which Domitian had taken from them. He gave a million crowns of gold to poor citizens, and trusted the distribution of it to the senators. At a time when the public misfortunes called for sacrifices, he sold his furniture, garments, ves- sels of gold and silver, his palace, and all that he regarded as superfluous, in order that he should not be a charge to the nation. In grate- ful return the people bestowed upon him great honours, and wished to erect statues to him ; but he refused, from an admirable sentiment of modesty. He died, according to Aurelius Victor, at the age of 63, after a reign of sixteen months. ANACLET, THE FIFTH POPE. [A. D. 103.— Trajan, Emperor.] Different opinions regarding Popes Clct and Anaclet — He forbids the priests to wear their beard, and'their hair — Uncertain period of his death. Many authors suppose St. Clet and St. Ana- clet to have been two different popes, who have found a place in the calendar as martyrs. They rest this upon the opinion of the Greeks, who have always preserved the name of Ana- clet or Anenclet, whilst the Latins have kept that of Clet. Other historian.?, on the con- trary, give two names to one and the same pope. But as it is impossible to arrive at the truth with positive certainty, in this case, we wall shun discussion, and follow the usually received opinion. Anaclet was a Greek, born at Athens, the son of a man named Antiochus. We are ig- norant of the time at which he came to Rome, and of the precise period with which he was charged with the government of the church. Baronius assures us that it was on the 3d of April, in the year 103. This pontiff prohibited ecclesiastics from wearing their beard and their hair; he ordained that bishops should not be consecrated but by three other prelates; that they should invest candidates for the sa- cred orders with them in public ; that all the faithful should partake of the eucharistic bread after its consecration; and that those \vho should refuse to receive the communion should be obliged to leave the Christian as- semblies : but it is very difficult to guarantee the authenticity of these various rules. Three decretals are produced in the name of St. Anaclet, which are evidently supposi- titiou.s, as are all those attributed to his suc- cessors up to the time of Siricus. Different writers have demonstrated this falsity, and Father Pagi has supported their reasoning with much force and ability. The author of this hj'pothesis, who is concealed under the name of Isidore Mercator, or Le Marchand, remains unknown. We only know that Ri- caud. Bishop of Mayence, was the first who brought this work from Spain, and that he made it public towards the end of the eighth, or the beginning of the ninth century. The pontifical writings assure us that St. Anaclet governed the church of Rome for nine years, and that he suffered martyrdom on the 13th of July, Anno Domino 112, in the third year of the reign of Trajan. Father Pagi is of a contrary opinion ; he makes him die in the year 95, during the reign of the cruel Domitian. This opinion appears to us as badly founded as the others. SAINT EVARISTUS, THE SIXTH POPE. [A. D. 112. — Trajan and Adrian, Emperors.] The hirth of Evaristus — Obscurity of the Martyrological documents — False decretals. According to the pontifical writings, Eva- ristus was a Greek by birth; his father, named Judah, was a Jew, and originally from the city of Bethlehem. Many ancient writers make mention of this bishop, and infonn us that he succeeded St. Anaclet ; but they cite nothing particular of the functions of his ministry. It is believed that this pontiff established the ecclesiastical division of the city of Rome, by dividing it HISTORY OF THE POPES. 25 into quarters, and distributing titles and pa- rishes. It was probably a now distribution, which the increase of tlie faithful rendered necessary. He performed tliree ordinations, and conferred the order of the priesthood on six persons, the episcopate on five, and the diaconate on two. Very uncertain traditions attribute to liim the establislmieut of new in- stitutions, which were not, however, intro- duced into the church until succeeding ages. According to clironology, Saint Evaristus died during the reign of the emperor Adrian, Aiuio Domini 121. According to the martyro- logists he governed the church of Rome nine years and three months. The chronicle of Eusebius allows him but nine years of episcopacy. Following the opinion which has confounded St. Clet and St. Anaclet, the pontifical writings fix the death of St. Evaristus in the year 109; but it has not been proved that he suffered as a martyr, though the church honours him as such. The priests attribute to him two decretals vrliich are not his work, and they deduce from this bishop the custom of dedicating or con- secrating churches, a custom imitated from the pagans, and which had only of late been introduced into the Christian religion. Durhig the pontificate of Evaristus a new sect arose, which recogniized as its chief a priest named Basilides. This heretic taught that God the Father existed alone; that he %; had produced the spirit, which in its turn had created the word; that this latter had engen- dered providence, from whence proceed wis- dom and power, from whom the forces, princes and angels issued : and that linally these last had fonned the world and the tlii-ee hundred and sixty-five heavens, from whence came the days of the solar year. He maintained that these angels, having subdued the work of their hands, God the Father, or the su- preme Sovereign, had sent his first-bom to deliver the world; and that the Spirit was in- carnate mider the human form. Basilides af- firmed that Christ, in the sacrifice of the cross, had miraculously taken the form of Simon, the Cyrenian, whom the Jews had crucified in his stead. ALEXANDER THE FIRST, SEVENTH TOPE. [A. D. 121. — Adrian, Emperor.] Elevation of Alexander to the Epi<^copatc — The Fathers of the Church and St. Ireneiis differ as to the martyrdom of this Pontiff — The priests attribute to him the institution of holy ivater, in imitation of the lustral icater of the Pas^ans — Trickery of the Popes — The relics of Alex- ander the First would form an hundred bodies, of natural size — False decretals. We w411 follow, during these obscure times, the same chronology as the Cardinal Baronius, and place the elevation of Alexander to the chair of St. Peter, towards the year 121, and in the second of the reign of Adrian. He was a Roman; his father's name was Alexander. During his pontificate the emperor put an end to the persecution which Trajan had excited against the church, and the Christians com- menced to breathe freely. We know nothing particularly of the life or death of this pontiff. The acts in which are found related the captivity and martyrdom of Alexander, appear tons too suspicious to merit the confidence which should be reposed in original and authentic documents. VVe sup- pose, with St. Ireneus, that he died in peace, though the church places him in the number of her martyrs, and grants to him the honours of canonization. The institution of holy water is attributed to this father, as well as that of bread with- out leaven for the communion, and that of the admixture of water with wine in the cha- lice for the celebration of the mass. Platinus and Father Pagi have been simple enough to adopt this fabulous tradition. The Cardinal Baronius confidently asserts that the institu- tion of holy water does not belong to Alexan- der the First, and the reason which he gives is Vol. I. D curious. According to him, an invention so sacred could only come from the apostles, and he wishes that we should accord to them the honour of it. The Protestants pretend, Avith more reason, that the holy water is but an imitation of the lustral water, which the church has borrowed from the pagans, as weU as many other of their ceremonies. The epoch of the death of Alexander is placed towards the year 132. Many cities of Italy, France and Germany, preserve the re- mains of this pontiff; but if all these bones were gathered together, one hundred bodies of natural size might be formed from them. At the same time, and during the reign of the emperor Adrian, took place the destruc- tion of Jerusalem. Fifty fortresses were level- ed to the ground, nine hundred and eighty- five villages were given to the flames, and more than a million of Jews were put to death or reduced to slavery. As the Christians were no less odious to the Romans than the other Jewish sects, Adrian destroyed the holy sepulchre. He rais(xl on the very spot on whicli Christ had expired a statue of Venus Callipyga; and transformed the grotto in which Jesus had been born into a temple, which he dedicated to the beautiful Adonis. 26 HISTORY OF THE POPES. SIXTUS THE rmST, EIGHTH POPE. [A. D. 132. — Adrian and Antoninus, Emperors. J Birth of Sixtiis the First — Uncertainty as to the duration of his pontificate — Fables as to the insti- tution of Lcntj and several religious practices. After the death, of Alexander, the See of Rome remained vacant for twenty-five days. Sixtus was chosen by the faithful to exercise the functions of the episcopate. He was a Roman, the son of a man named Helvidius, according to some, or, if we believe the ponti- fical writings, of Pastor. Baronius supposes that the father of Sixtus was probably Junius Pastor, of whom a pagan author makes men- tion. We know of none of the acts of this bishop. The learned are not agreed concerning either the beginning or the end of his pontificate. He governed the church of Rome for ten years according to some, a few months less accord- ing to others, who rely on the authority of Eusebius. Sixtus, despite the uncertainty of his very existence, has been placed in the list of martyrs, and the epoch of his death is fixed towards the year 142. Sacred historians attribute to him the insti- tution of Lent, and pretend that he commanded the priests to make use of a linen communion cloth, on which was placed the body of Jesus Christ. They add, with equally little founda- tion for their story, that he introduced the custom of singing the "Holy of holies." and prohibited the laity from touching the holy vessels. Though these things are said on the authority of the pontifical writings, it is im- possible, in the opinion of those who wish to judge dispassionately, to pass them off" as the doings of this holy father. The two decretals which appear in the name of this pope, are evidently fables, as Marin and Baluze have proved. The title of one of these decretals is too proud for the times of the primitive church : " Sixtus, Uni- versal Bishop of the Apostolic Church, to all Bishops, health, in the name of the Lord." Father Pagi himself is convinced that this title was unknown to the pontitTs of the first ages. The Catholics have mvolved themselves in this error, in their contest with the Protest- ants, who refuse to yield to the pope the title of universal bishop, as unworthy of a bishop who assumes the title of servant of the ser- vants of God. The place of bishop of Rome was then regarded as a post which could sa- tisfy neither the ambition nor the passions of priests, and those only were elevated to this dignity who joined holiness of morals to con- tempt of death. The church pretends to have preserved the mortal remains of St. Sixtus, but we ought not to yield any credence to these uncertain traditions. We also refuse credit to the au- thenticity of the relics Avhich Clement the Tenth sent to Cardinal de Retz, to be placed in deposit in the Abbey of St. Michael in Lor- raine. SAINT TELESPHORUS, THE NINTH POPE. [A. D. 142. — Antoninus, Emperor.] Birth of Telesphorus — New fable on the institution of Lent — On the Midnight Mass — Death of the Pope. Telesphorus was a Greek by birth, and had teen reared in the cloisters from his earliest youth, which is all we know of this bishop. According to a glossary inserted in some editions of the Chronicles of Eusebius, it is said that the church is indebted to this holy father for the institution of Lent. The priests, who wish to derive from the apostles the pre- sent usages of the church, tell us that Teles- phorus only re-established it. Cardinal Baro- nius boasts that he has demonstrated this pretended truth, but the reasons which he adduces are very weak. Others affirm that this pontiff Avas neither the restorer nor the insti- tutor of it, and that he only established the seventh week, which we call Quinquagesima. We will demonstrate, that this ceremony was not in use in the church until five hundred years after the death of this holy father. The church also attributes to him the institution of the midnight mass at Christmas. Platinus and some historians have transmitted to us this fable. It is generally believed that St. Telesphorus suffered martyrdom in the year 134. and seve- ral authors assure us of the fact; but there is no agreement as to the year in which this event is said to have occin-red. Legends fix the martyrdom of Symphorosa and her seven sons during the pontificate of Telesphorus. According to the versions of the fathers, the emperor Adrian, having built a splendid palace on the banks of the Tiber, wished to dedicate it to the proper deities, with religious HISTORY OF THE POPES, 27 ceremonies, and addressed himself to the pagan priests; they refused to obey him urdess a Christian widow, who hved in tlie neighbour- hood, should be surrendered to them. They add, that Adrian acceded to their demand, and that Symphorosa was seized, with her seven children, who were attached to stakes around the temple of Hercules, whilst the mother herself had her ilesh torn from her by red-hot pmcers, by four executioners, who demanded, at each new torment, if she would consent to sacrifice to the false gods. It is dillicult for us to reconcile this act of cruel fanaticism with the tolerance the Romans always dis- played for the religion of others; and we are obliged to doubt this legend, as well as the acts of the martyrs during the llrst ages of the church. SAINT HYGINUS, THE TENTH POPE. [A. D. 154. — Antoninus, Emperor.] Character of St. Hyginus — Rules attributed to him — Falsehoods of the priests, in relation to this new martyr — He introduces godfathers and godmothers in baptism — Apochryphai writings. HvGiNUs was an Athenian, and the son of a philosopher whose name history has not pre- served. Authors speak of him as a holy man, who preferred a retreat and obscurity in the forest to the splendour of the palace. Never- theless he made a great many rules for the order and distinction of raiiks among the Ro- man clergy. Authors liberally bestow upon him the quality of a martyr, but it is doubtful whether he shed his blood for his religion; and ancient writers have either not known of it or not spoken of it. The usage of having godfathers and god- mothers at the baptism of children, is derived from St. Hyginus, as well as that of consecrating churches. Authors assure us that he wrote a treatise on God, and the incarnation of his Son ; but this work is apochryphai, as well as the two decretals which pass under his name ; the first is addressed to all the faithful, the second to the Athenians. Cardinal Baronius places the death of this holy father Anno Do- mini 158, and in the nineteenth of the reign of Antoninus. Alexandria was always the brilliant hearth- stone of the lights which illuminated the Christian world, and the seat of the heresies which desolated the church. During the pon- tificate of St. Hyginus the subversive ideas of the philosophers of Alexandria took a decided character, and were propagated in other churches by the preachings of the Gnostics. These heretics followed the errors of Epipha- ims, the disciple of Basilides and son of Carpocras, who defined the reign of God as the reigii of commonalty and equality, affirm- ing that commonalty w-as a natural and divine law, and that property in goods and the dis- tinction of marriage were the greatest curses of humanity. After his death Epiphanus was honoured as a god m the island of Cepha- lonia. SAINT PIUS THE FIRST, ELEVENTH POPE. [A. D. 158. — Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, and (Elivs Verus, Emperors.] Contradiction among the Fathers of the Church, in relation to the order of succession of Pope Pius the First— His birth— The Roman Blartyrology makes him a martyr— Decretals attributed to him. The fathers of the church are not agreed as to the order of succession of Pius the First. Some place him nextafter Anicet, and Jerome favours this opinion, counting Anicet, howev- er, as the tenth pope after St. Peter. The same order is found in some old chronicles; but the opinion which gives the first rank to Pius, is generally adopted. It is founded on the au- thority of Ilegesippus, St. Ireneus, Tertullian, Eusebius, the two Nicephori — in fine, on the unanimous agreement of the Greeks and La- tins. We ought to adhere to the opinion of Hegesippus and St. Ireneus, who were the co- temporaries of Pius the First. He was an Italian, born in the city of Aqui- leia, and the son of a man named Rufinus. There is no doubt he lived a holy life, and laboured zealously for the increase of Cluis- tianity; but his particular actions are un- known. He held the See of Rome for ten years, up to the year 167, and the tenth year of the reign of the emperors INTarcus Aurelius and O^lius Verus. The Roman martyrology numbers him among the martyrs, and Baro- nius supports this opinion by reasons destitute of truth. The ancient writers who speak of this bishop, make no mention of his career having been terminated by violence, from 28 HISTORY OF THE POPES. whence we are led to suppose he died peace- fully. Gratian speaks of several decrees published in the name of Pius the First, the falsity of which it is easy to detect. Fabulous tradi- tions add, that Hermes or Hermas, the same of whom we have spoken under the pontifi- cate of Clement, was a brother of Pius the First, and the author of a book which he wrote by command of an angel, who appeared to him in the form of a shepherd. This Her- mas was a visionary, who, in his book of the Pastor, relates ridiculous histories, and stu- pidly invented fables. We must also pass by two decretals in the name of Pius the First, which are evidently false; the one addressed to all the faithful, the other to the Christians of Italy. These pieces are unworthy of the holy bishop to whom they have been attributed. ANICET, THE TWELFTH POPE. [A. D. 167. — Marcus Aurelius and CElius Verus, Emperors.] Birth of Anicet — Dispute between the Pope and St. Policarp — Heresies of Balsilides and Car- pocras — They allow all pleasures — The martyrdom of Anicet controverted — The martyrs of Lyons and Vienna. The learned have made many researches, in order to learn the beginning, the duration, and the end of the pontificate of this bishop. We are nevertheless compelled to avow that we know nothing positive of Anicet. We only know that he was originally from a small town in Syria, and that his father's name was John. At the commencement of his pontificate, he was visited by St. Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, and the disciple of St. Jolm the Evan- gelist. They talked over many questions of discipline, on which they agreed. But it was not so on a point of less importance. Policarp, following the custom of the Asiatics, establish- ed by the example of the evangelists, St. John and St. Philip, celebrated the festival of East- er, as did the Jews, on the fortieth day suc- ceeding the first moon of the year. But Ani- cet, attached to the traditions of his church, did not celebrate it until the Sunday following the fortieth day. The tranquillity which the church then enjoyed, permitted the bishop to extend his authority over the faithful, and Ani- cet wished to compel all Christians to follow this practice. This was the first violation of the usages established by the apo.stles. Nevertheless, the bishop of Smyrna resisted the pontiff, and preserved the privileges of his see. The holy father was obliged to yield j and they agreed to follow the usages estab- lished in the two churches : an evident proof that it was then understood, that difference of opinion, in regard to exterior ceremonies, should not difiturb the quietude of conscience,nor serve as a pretext to attack a received doctrine. St. Polycarp affirmed, that the discipline of the church should not be arbitrary ; that is, that nations should be permitted to serve God, in accordance with such rites as they thought to be most agreeable to the majesty of the Su- preme Being. They appear to have been con- vinced of this truth, in the early ages of Chris- tianity; and they shunned breaking the bonds of charity in relation to subjects which did not render any one criminal in the sight of God. The pontificate of Anicet has been rendered illustrious, in ecclesiastical history, by the mon- strous heresies against which he was called to contend. The doctrines of Basilides and Car- pocras, the chiefs of the Gnostics, commenced, despite their extravag^ance, to make headway. These heretics maintained, that we could abandon ourselves to every pleasure ; that women ought to be in common ; that there was no resurrection of the body ; and that Christ was but a phantom. They pennitted sacrifices to idols, and the denial of the Christian faith in times of persecution. Such a doctrine gave room for an exercise of zeal on the part of the bishop of Rome, who wished to preserve his flock from the contagion of these heresies. The individual actions of this pontiff are un- known to us. His death is said to have occurred Anno Do- mini 1 75 ; but he did not suffer martyrdom, although Baronius assures us he did, and cites an extremely curious story in regard to his re- lics. Anicet was the first pope who com- manded the priests to shave their heads in the form of a crown. During the latter years of his pontificate, there took place in Gaul a vio- lent persecution against the Christians. Attala, Biblis, St. Pothinus, St. Blandinus, St. Epiphodus, St. Alexander, St. Symphorien, and some others, who have been called the martyrs of Vienna and Lyons, perished in the midst of the most dreadful tortures. We have still a letter, addressed by the faithful in those provinces to their brethren in Phrygia and Asia, which runs thus : " Peace be unto you, and thanks to our Lord. The animosity of the pagans against us is so great, that we have been driven from our homes, the baths, and the public places. The weakest among us have saved themselves — the boldest have been led before the tribunals and magistrates, who have publicly examined them. Several slaves have been produced as false witnesses against us, who have testified that we practise the festival of Thyestos and the marriage of (Edippus : that is, that we HISTORY OF THE POPES. 29 abandon ourselves to incest, and eat human flesh. These accusations have exasperated the people against us ; and the cries of death, from an enraged crowd, have become the sig- nal for punishment. The deacon Sanctus, who was the first tortured, sustained the violence of his punislunent, and avowed himself a Christian. In his rage the judge, who inter- rogated him, caused them to apply plates of heated brass to all parts of his body. His legs and arms were crisped up, and the martyr no longer preserved the human form. The next day, as he was still alive, in order to conquer Ids firmness by the intolerance of his suffer- ings, they renewed the same torture, and the executioners applied the hot plates of brass upon the gaping wounds of the deacon. But suddenly the deformed body was miraculous- ly restored — his wounds healed — the bones which had been broken were marvelously re- united, and the martyr retook hi* original form. Then the executioners, seized with fright, sus- pended the punislunent; and reconducted him to prison, near to the venerable Polhinus, bishop of Lyons. Maturus, Blandinus, and Attalas were, in their turn, led before the judge ; and, on their refusal to sacrifice to idols, they were led to the amphitheatre, where they were tortured with extraordinary cruelty. At length the pagans, seeing that torments, far from chang- ing our belief, increased the number of Chris- tian worshippers, ordered a general massa- cre of the faithful who were in the prisons. Epiphodus was decapitated ; Alexander cru- cified" Symphorien had his throat cut. All the dead bodies were placed on one funeral pile, and the ashes cast into the Rhone."' SOTER, THE THIRTEENTH POPE. [A. D. 175. — Marcus Aurelius, Emperor.] The birth of Soter — Uncertainty as to the dilation of his pontificate — Thousjits on the charity of the Protestants towards the poor — Scandalous riches of the priests — Their sordid avarice — Sect of the Montanists — Female priestesses — St. Jerome a calumniator — Death of Soter. According to the pontifical writings. Bish- op Soter was born in Fondi, and was the son of Concordius. The learned are not agreed upon the commencement, or the duration of his pontificate; they only praise thetharity of the holy father, and say that he did not suffer the pious custom, established by the first bishops of Rome of making collection for the wants of the poor, to be abolished. The avarice of the clergy has drawn these severe reflections from one of the most dis- tinguished writers of the last century: -'The custom of distributing alms to the poor is still preserved among the Protestants, and is abolished in the Catholic church. The presents made to churches are no longer, as in the early ages, employed to succour those in need ; the priests regard themselves as the first poor, and absorb immense revenues. A revolting abuse, which should be repressed with severity." Soter had to contend against the IMontanLsts or Cataphrygians, whose heresy made pro- gress during his pontificate. Montanus was a Phrygian or Mysian by birth, and chief of this sect; he proclaimed himself inspired by the spirit of God, fell frequently into exsta- cies, and prophesied. Priscilla and Maxi- rnilla, women of remarkable beauty, became his di.'^ciples, and accompanied him in all his journeys— for, in the sect of the JNIontanists women administered the sacraments, and preached in the churches. They condemned second marriages, admit- ted a distinction of food, and had three fasts, which they kept very rigorously. But as if all these accusations were not sulTicient to render Montanus and his sectaries odious, Jerome has calumniated them in supposing that they adored but a single person in the divinity; for it is a habit of theologians to magnify the faults of an adversary at the ex- pense of truth, in order to overwhelm him. The Martyrologists indicate the feast of Soter as that of a martyr, the 22d April, 179, and their opinion has been followed by Baro- nius. But it does not appear that this pope shed his blood for his religion, or that he died in prison, or that he even suffered punishment for the cause of Christ. He ordered that priests should celebrate mass fasting, and prohibited religious women from touching the sacred vessels, or approach- ing the altar whilst the priest was celebrating the holy mysteries; but afi these rules ap- pear to be fabulous. A law is also attributed to him, prohibiting a woman from being re- cognized as a legitimate wife until after the priest blessed llie marriage. Two epistles and some decretals, which are given to the world under his name, pass, in the opiifion of all the learned, for supposititious works. 30 HISTOKY OF THE POPES. ELEUTHERUS, THE FOUHTEENTH POPE. [A. D. 179. — Marcus Aurelius, and Commodus, Emperors.] Birth of Eleutherus — He is accused of having joined the heresy of the Montanists — They adore thirty gods — Deliver themselves itp to monstrous debaucheries — Knavery of sacred historians — Falsehood as to the martyrdom of Eleutherus. St. Eleutherus was a Greek by birth, and originally from Epims. Nicopolis was his country, and his father's name Abundantius. At the commencement of his pontificate, he received the celebrated deputation from the martyrs of Lyons, on the subject of the Mon- tanists, Avho were exciting great troubles among the faithful of Asia, and which threat- ened even to invade Gaul. St. Ireneus, Avho had been chosen bishop of Lyons after the death of St. Photinus, was charged with the letters addressed to the pontitT, in order to en- gage him to oppose the progress of the new heresy of the Montanists. Some authors believe that Eleutherus was himself led away by the Montanists, who af- fected a great exterior piety ; but the holy father soon found full occupation in the bosom of his own church. Blastus and Flo- rinus, apostate priests, who had been deposed for their errors, raised themselves up against the received doctrine, and jiropagated the heresy of the Valentinians, whose chief, Va- lentin, professed the Platonic philosophy. This heretic and his followers received the words of Scripture in a figurative sense, and condemned the holy books. They worship- ped three eons, whom they regarded as gods, born one after another. They permitted the greatest impurities, and maintained that no one could attain to perfection until ho had loved a woman. About the same time the king Lucius, who reigned in some part of Great Britain, sent an embassy to St. Eleutherus to demand from him the means of becoming a Christian. Fleurent and some authors have adopted this story as true, rejecting only the fabulous cir- cumstances of the conversion of Lucius. But truthful historians have shown that Gregory was the first pontiff A^ho was occupied in the conversion of the English. It is possible that there were then Christians in Great Britain, but it is false that Eleutherus sent thither preach- ers at the request of the king of that coimtry. The holy father combatted the opinions of Tatien, who insisted on abstinence from cer- tain food, and commanded the faithful to eat the flesh of all animals. Since then, they have reformed this as well as many other things in the system of the first Christians, and even in that of the apostles. Eleutherus, after having governed his church with great prudence for fifteen years and twenty-three days, died in peace, in the year 194, and was buried in the Vatican, if we are to believe the pontifical of Damasus. The Modern Martyrology and the Roman Breviary accord to him the quality of a mar- tyr, and indicate the day of his fete in the offices of the church. His body is preserved in the Vatican, where great solemnities are celebrated in his honour. The city of Nozesalso claims to poss'ess the body of this bishop. This, however, is not the first example of the rascality of the priests, who have multiplied relics, in order to extort offerings from the faithful. During the pontificate of Eleutherus. St. Clement of Alexandria wrote the Stromates, or titles of Christian Philosophy. One of the most remarkable passages in his work is that which treats of marriage. St. Clement thus speaks of the diflerent opinions of the philo- sophers: " Democritus and Epicurus regarded marriage as the principal source of our mis- fortunes; the Stoics regarded it as an indif- ferent act ; and the Peripatetics as the least of all evils. But all these philosophers could not properly judge of it, being addicted to the infamous practice of sodomy. " In the Christian religion, marriage is a moral institution ; the natural formation of the body demands it ; and the Creator has said^ ' increase and multiply.' Besides, is not the power of engendering beings, who shall suc- ceed us in the long series of ages, the greatest perfection to which man can attain'? Mar- riage is^ie gei-m of a family, the corner-stone of the social edifice ; and the Christian priests should be the first to set an example, by con- tracting holy unions. ''The Nicolaites, the disciples of Carpo- cratus and of his son Epiphanus, taught pro- miscuous concubinage, and rendered them- selves gTiilty of a great crime in so doing in the sight of God ; nevertheless, they are less culpable than the Marcionites, who, falling into a contrary excess, renounce the delights of a married life, in order not to increase the number of the sons of humanity. " I blame Tatien, Avho pretends that com- merce with females diverts us from prayer; and I condemn equally Julius Capien, who, from hatred to generation, declares that Christ had only the appearance of the virile parts in the human body. " All these heretics are equally condemned by those who maintain, Avith reason, that men ought to use the liberty Avhich God has given them in taking a Avife. Some pretend that all the pleasures, even the sin against nature, are permitted to the faithful ; others, differing from these, push conscience so far, as to regard as sacrilegious every union of the flesh, and con- demn even their own origin. These sense- less creatures Avish to imitate Christ, forgetful that Jesus Avas not an ordinary man, and ob- stinately refuse to follow the example of the apostles St. Peter and St. Philip, Avho Avere married, and had each a large family of chil- dren." HISTORY OF THE POPES. ai SAINT VICTOR, THE FIFTEENTH TOPE. [A. D. 194. — Pertinax and Severus, Emperors.] Dates become more certain — Election of St. Victor — Heresy of Theodotus — Heresy of Albion — The Pontiff approves of the schism of Montanus — He favours the female Montaaists — Proud conduct oj^Victor — He is rebuked by St. Ireneus, who refuses to obey him. Victor was an African by birth, the son of one Felix. The apostate Theodotus having returned into the bosom of the church, be- came the chief of a new sect, which caused great scandal at the commencement of this pontificate. His doctrine taught that Jesus Christ was hmnan, and his disciples published abroad that bishop Victor thought with them. The pontiff soon put an end to this calumny, by excommunicating Theodotus, with Arte- man, his disciple, who formed then a new sect. He condemned at the same time the old errors of Albion and some other heretics, who appeared desirous of reviving them, through the means of the peace which the church then enjoyed. But as infallibility was not then established, Victor allowed himself to be seduced by the Montanists. TertuUian, who had declared in favour of these innovators, assures us that the bishop of Rome approved of the prophe- cies of ]\Iontamis and of the two women, Maximilla and Priscilla, who followed him. Another heresy soon after broke out in the clmrch. Praxeas, who had aided in the pro- scription of the prophecies of Montanus, in- vented patripassianism, which destroyed the distinctions of the persons of the Deity. Vic- tor attacked this new schism, and held a coun- cil at Rome, which condemned Praxeas, who acknowledged his error. About the same tune, took place the cele- brated struggle in relation to the festival of Easter. Up to this time, the difference of opinion and usage on this point of discipline, had not disturbed the peace of the Christian churches. Victor unjustly claiming a right of superiority over his brethren, wrote to all the churches of Asia vehement letters, threat- ening them Avith excommunication if they did not adopt his opinions. This conduct of the holy father discon- tented a great number of bishops ; even those who opposed the opinions of the Asiatics, re- fused to adhere to the opinions of the pope, and as they had sufficient power to tell the pastor of Rome what they thought of his pre- tensions, they reprimanded him in sharp and energetic terms. St. Ireneus also censured him in a letter, which he wrote in the name of the Christians of Gaul. St. Victor was obliged to submit to the re- monstrances and censures of the bishops of the west. He lived some years after; the pon- tifical writings assure us that he terminated his life by martyrdom, towards the year 202 ; but the martyrologies, in the name of St. Jerome, only bestow on him the title of confessor. POLITICAL IIISTOM OF THE SECOIN^D CENTURY. Tlie Emperor Trajan — His good qualities and vices — His death — Adrian — His extraordinary liberality — His cruelties — He puts to death six hundred thousand Jews — Antoninus, called the Pious — He permits the licentiousness of his wife — Antoninus the philosopher succeeds him — Scandcdous debaucheries of Faustina — His death — Poisoned by his son — Character of Commo- dus — His shamclcssness — 7/;.s incests — He is poisoned by 3Iarcia, and strangled by an athlete — Pertinax succeeds hitn — The soldiery assassinate him, and put up the empire at auction. Ulpius Traj.vn, by birth a Spaniard, had been adopted by Cocceius Nerva, whom he succeeded. This prince was of a handsome form, with a just, sage, moderate and prudent mind, and understood the art of ruling in times of peace. It was on this account that the senate eulogized his mildness, his libe- rality, his magnificence, and his love for the republic. In imitation of Nen-a, he swore that no good man should be killed or covered with ignominy by his orders. In giving a poi^nard to Sabuiauus, chief of his gtiard, he said to him, •■ If my orders s^re just, emi)loy this in my service ; if unjust, direct it against me.'' He gained two siimal victories over the Da- cians, reduced their country to the condition of a Roman province, drove Chosroes king of Parthia from Araienia, tamed the Jews, con- quered Assyria, and wished to pursue his career of conquest to the Indies, when he died at Sclinus in Sdicia. A magnificent co- lumn was erected over his tomb, which is every where knownr as the column of Trajan. This prince was endowed ■with the best cjuali- ties; but it is pretended he was addicted to wine and debauchery, and was superstitious, which is dauijerous in a sovereign, for super- stition has always caused great disorders in a state. During his reiffn the Christians underwent a 32 HISTORY OF THE POPES. violent persecution. Pliny the Younger, then governor of Bithynia, obliged by the duties of his ofhce to persecute the new religion, wrote to the emperor, representing to him, that the Christians were accused of atrocious crimes, of which they were innocent. He also de- manded from him, in what manner he should behave towards men whom the edicts of the prince condemned as culpable. Trajan re- plied, that he need make no inquiries, for if they were accused of being Christians, and convicted of it, it was right to punish them. The crime of acting against the ordinances of the state, was made a pretext for this pro- ceeding, the pretence being that the emperor had prohibited the assemblies, and that the Christians had violated the laws. After the death of Trajan, Adrian, surnamed Elius, the son of one of his relatives, obtained the empire through the artifices of Plotina, whom he espoused in gratitude therefor. At the commencement of his reign, he burned the obligations of the people due to the imperial treasury, to the amount of twenty-two millions five hundred thousand crowns of gold . He visit- ed the most beautiful provinaes of the empire, and built in Great Britain a wall twenty-five thousand paces in length, with fortresses, to strengthen the Roman garrisons against the inhabitants of the island whom they could not entirely conquer. Then changing his conduct, he retired to his palace on the Tiber, to aban- don himself to voluptuousness, and put to death a great number of citizens by the sword or poison. This prince had great virtues, as well as great vices. He was liberal and laborious, and maintained order and discipline. He aided the people, applied himself laboriously to the administration of justice, and punished severely those who did not faithfully fulfil their duties. He composed several works in verse and prose, and we have still some frag- ments of his Latin poetry and Greek verses in the anthology. There is also in the Commen- taries of Sparticus, an epitaph which this em- peror composed in memory of a hunting horse, to which he was much attached. But Adrian was cruel, envious, jealous of those who excelled in the arts, shameless, superstitious, and addicted to magic. Despite his vices, divine honours were rendered him by a decree of the senate. " He put an end to the wars which had been commenced ; conquered the Jews, a nation always obstinate, massacred six hundred thousand, and prohibited the rest from re- turning to their country, and they were con- strained to purchase with money the sad privilege of returning for one day in each year to weep over the ruins of Jerusalem. Titus Fulvius Antoninus, called the Pious, succeeded Adrian, whose daughter he had espoused, and for whom he showed a weak compliance. This prince was remarkably handsome, sober, liberal, with a judicious mind and elevated sentiments. He governed the empire with so much wisdom, that his reputation spread through all the world. Kings ought to engrave in letters of gold on their palaces his beautiful maxim : " It is better to save a single "citizeUj than kill a thousand enemies." Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, called the Phi- losopher, was the son of Antoninus Verus, whom Adrian caused Antoninus Pious to adopt, and whom he succeeded. He had es- poused Faustina, the daughter of his prede- cessor, whose adulteries caused great scandal in the empire. Antoninus triumphed over the Parthians, conquered Avidius Cassius who had rebelled in the east — subjugated the Marcomans and the Quadi — established at Athens professors to teach the sciences — broke down the Scy- thians, and performed great actions. He asso- ciated with him in the government, Lucius Antoninus Verus, who had married Lucillahis daughter. This coadjutor in the empire, very difi'erent from Marcus Aurelius, abandoned himself to pleasure and debaucherj^. Histo- rians regard it as extraordinary, that in a gov- ernment divided between two princes, whose inclinations were so opposite to each other, that ambition and jealousy had not broken oft' their intimacy ; but it must be attributed to the merit of Antoninus, Avho by his virtues compelled his son-in-law to have some gxiard over his conduct. Verus died before his father-in-law ; supposed to have been poison- ed by Faustina. During the reigii of these two princes the church underwent a fourth persecution, in which many of the faithful suffered martyr- dom, among whom were the martyrs of Lyons, who are as famous in ecclesiastical history as in our legends. Some years after the death of Verus, Antoninus was himself poisoned by his physicians, who executed the orders of Commodus his son. Lucius Commodus Antoninus occupied the throne after this parricide. Historians teach us, that he was the handsomest and most cruel of all men. He had a well-proportioned body, advantagous height, a grand and im- posing air, eyes pleasant and full of spirit. The Romans said he was the son of Faustina and a gladiator. This monster concealed, under this seducing exterior, the most frightful cruelty. At the age of twelve, he caused the master of the public baths, to be cast into a heated fur- nace, because he had made the water loo warm. Become emperor, he ordered them to render him divine honours while still alive. His palaces contained three hundred boys and three hundred yomrg girls, destined to gratify his passions. During his reign the Moors, the Dacians, the Pannonians, the Germans, and the in- habitants of Great Britain, were conquered by his generals ; and whilst the people were cutting throats for the glory of the sovereign, he himself was improving on the cruelties of Domitian and Caligula, and surpassing Nero in infamous debauchery. The most faithful ministers of the last reign were massacred by his orders, and the mos* HISTORY OF THE POPES. 33 venerable senators became his victims. He condemned an unfortunate man, who was ac- cused of having read the life of Caligula, ■written by Suetonius, to be thrown to wild beasts in the circus. In his walks, when he met very corpulent citizens, he caused them to be split in the middle by a single blow, and delighted in seeing their entrails escape through the passing wound. This caused a writer of much celebrity to say, that the monks of our day, so gross and fat, could not escape death under such a peril, unless they observed more rigorously the fasts prescribed by their rules. This cruel emperor spared neither his wife Crispina, nor his sister Lucilla. The Chris- tians alone enjoyed repose during his reign. Gifted with herculean strength, he combatted himself in the amphitheatre seven hundred and thirty-live times; carried off' from his combats a thousand trophies, and boasted that he had slain twelve thousand men with his right hand. At length, after a reign much too long, jSIarcia, his favourite concubine, gave him a poisoned drink ; and, as he ejected the poison he had taken, she caused him to be strangled by an athlete named Narcissus. After the death of the infamous Commodus, the senate chose, as the man most worthy of the empire, Publius Helvius Pertinax, who was spnuig from a plebeian origin. The new emperor supported the privileges of the se- nate, punished informers, proscribed the buf- foons of Commodus, and made useful regula- tions for the good of the citizens. But wishing to retain the troops in their duty, and remedy the disorders of the camp, he was assassi- nated by his soldiers. These wretches cut off his head ; and having carried it through the camp, mounted the ramparts, crying out that the empire was for sale. Sulpicianus, the father-in-law of Pertinax, wished to buy it ; but P. Diduis Julian, who was richer, offered more, and promised six hundred crowns to each soldier; but he could not pay them. Severus having then pene- trated into Italy, at the head of the army of Hungary, the senate declared Julian a parri- cide and usurper, and caused him to be put to death. The extinction of the family of the Anto- niaes, in the person of Commodus, brought upon the empire similar troubles to those Avhich were before occasioned by the fall of the family of the Csesars, in the person of the infamous Nero. From that time, a frightful military despotism ensued. The norauiation of the eniperors appertained exclusively to the soldiery of the pra;torian guard, who made or unmade the elections according to their ca- price or interest. Later, the legions claimed, in their turn, the right of proclaiming emperors, and revolted against the PraBtorians. Yet the empire was still in all its force ; wise laws, moderate im- posts, a certain degree of political liberty, an unlimited civil liberty, a vigorous population, rich provinces, flourishing and magnificent cities, a very active internal and external commerce, were the important advantages which the citizens of Rome then enjoyed, and which soon disappeared before the frightful despotism of the sword. The senate lost all influence in the state, and rude soldiers be- came the dispensers of the imperial crown ; on all sides sprung up civil wars, invasions of barbarians and famines, which were the bane- ful presages of the ruin of the Romans. THE THIRD CENTURY. ZEPHYRINUS, THE SIXTEENTH POPE. [A. D. 203. — Septi.mus Severus, Caracalla, Marcian and Heliogobalus, Emperors.] The Bishops of Rome usurp despotic authority over the other Churches — Birth of Zcphyrimts — Ridiculous f Me of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove — The Pope becomes a heretic — New persecution — Cowardice of the Pontiff — He excommunicates the Montanists — His lenity to- wards adulteresses. It is a generally admitted truth, that the best and wisest laws are corrupted, whenever they grant too much power to a sinu:le indi- viilual; and the institution of the e])i.scopate offers us a striking proof of it. The high dig- nity of pontiff changed the spirit of those who were clothed with it, inspired them with pride, and so flattered their ambition, that they re- garded themselves as superior to other minis- ters of religion. Above all, we remark this change at Rome, as if this mistress of the world could not suffer within her bosom but princes and kings. Vol. I. E The bishops of the holy city commence. by soming '■'arrogant, obsti- nate— the enemy of Christians, the defender of heretics, and with preferring human tradi- tions to divine inspiration." Thus, even in the first ages of Christianity, holy men mingled, in their disputes, that sharpness and bitterness, which Ave always see in religious contests. But then the unen- lightened people, embraced with furv, the opinions of their bishops, and thousands per- ished, to maintain the errors of miserable priests. The varying opinions of historians, as to the death of pope Stephen, do not permit us to 42 HISTORY OF THE POPES. arrive at tlie truth. An ancient pontifical re- lates that he was condemned to banishment, as well as St. Cyprian, and St. Denis, of Alex- andria. And that, afterwards, having returned to his church, he was arrested, and thrown into prison with two other bishops, nine priests, and three deacons. It is added, that he ob- tained from the magistrates permission to as- semble in his prison, the principal ecclesias- tics, and, with their consent, placed the sa- cred vessels, and the treasure of the church, in the hands of his deacon, Sixtus, whom he designated as his successor. He was then be- headed on the public square. The acts of the martyrs, according to Bail- let, are still less authentic than this pontifical. They relate that the holy father was taken, on the second day of August, before the em- peror Valerian, who condemned him to be de- voured in the circus, by wild beasts. But the sudden, and miraculous fall of a temple of Mars, having put to flight the guards, who ac- companied him, the pontiff was enabled to escape into a neighbouring cemetry. Believ- ing himself safe from their pursuit, he com- menced offering divine sacrifices, when the soldiers found him, and cut off his head, upon the altar. Father Pagi has followed these acts. We adopt, as more truthful, the opin- ions of the learned, who assure us that St, Stephen died in prison, in the fourth year of his pontificate, and in the beginning of the year 257. His doctrine on baptism is very curious. He affirmed, that this regenerative sacrament, environed the soul of the Neophytes, and en- tered into them in two forms • strengthening himself with these words of John the Baptist : "He who shall come after me, shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." He cites then, as an irrefragable proof of the orthodoxy of his doctrine, the example of the centurion Cornelius, M'ho received the Holy Spirit before he did the re-invigorating water, and that of the apostles, who, on the other hand, were baptized with water long be- fore they had received the Holy Spirit. In fine, he demonstrates, by passages from the Evan- gelists, that this sacrament has a multiplied form ; a doctrine entirely opposed to the de- cisions of GGCumenical councils, and which would be sufficient to cause us to regard him as an heretic, if the church had not canon- ized him. SIXTUS THE SECOND, TWENTY-FIFTH POPE. [A. D. 257. — Valerian Gallienus, Emperor.] Eulogiwn on Sixtus — His Election — He puts an end to the ridictdous quarrels about baptism — Heresy of Sabcllius — The persecution continues — Death of the pope. SiXTDSj whom some authors call Xystus, and whom they consequently make the last of that name, was an Athenian by birth. He had exercised, with much charity, zeal, and fidelity, the duties of a deacon, under Etienne ; and when that pope was arrested, he asked permission to follow him to prison. After that, he became the g-uardian and depository of the vases, furniture, and all the money of the church. After the death of Stephen, he was elevated to the episcopal dignity. The fatal question of the baptism of here- tics, continued to divide the faithful, after having scandalously separated St. Cyprian and St. Stephen. But "Sixtus, less violent, or less ambitious than his predecessor, terminated this ridiculous quarrel, by yielding to the bishops of Africa. Hence, St. Ponce, deacon of Carthage, calls him in his works, a good and pacific prelate. Dennis, of Alexandria, advised pope Sixtus, by letter, of an heresy which was beginning to appear. He wrote to him: "There has broken out at Ptolemaides, in Penasopolis, a doctrine, truly impious, containing many blas- phemies against God the Father. It teaches us not to call Jesus Christ his only Son ; and not to recognize the Holy Spirit." The chief of this sect, named Sabelliiis, taught that the persons of the Trinity were but three names ; and that there was but one person in the Godhead, called in heaven God the Father ; on earth, Jesus Christ ; and in the creatures, the Holy Spirit. And that the Father, under the notion of the Son, had been born of the virgin, and suffered death. Several bishops, having partaken of the sen- timents of Sabellius, propagated them in their dioceses. This heresy was similar to that of Praxeas, and the Patropassians, who denied the Trinity, and the real distinction of the di- vine personages. It was transmitted to Sabel- lius, by Noetus, his master, and extended into all the provinces, to Rome even, and into Me- sopotamia, where it found numerous partizans. The violence of the persecution increased during the consulate of Memmius Fuscus and Pomponius, when the emperor Valerien, oc- cupied in the East, by the war against the Persians, had left the government of Rome to Marcian, the declared foe of the religion. This latter, in the absence of the sovereign, gave orders to the senate, to pursue the Chris- tians, and condemn to punishment the bi- shops, priests, and deacons ; to punish senators and Roman knights, by taking from them their rank, and property, and to put them to death, if they persisted in their professions of Chris- tianity. He made, besides, two other edicts : one against women of quality, whom he HISTORY OF THE POPES. 43 threatened with exile ) the other, against the Cfflsareans, or freedmen of Caesar, whom he declared confiscated as slaves to the prince, if they did not return to the religion of the empire. Pope Sixtus was one of the first victims of this cruel persecution. He was seized, with a part of his clergy, whilst praying, at the ce- metery of Callistus, and conducted to torture. St. Laurence, the principal deacon of the Ro- man church, followed him in tears, and said to him: '-Whence go you, father, without your son 1 You are not accustomed to ofi'er sacrifice without the minister. How have I displeased you ? Prove if I am worthy of the choice you have made, in confiding to me the dispensation of the blocd of our Lord.'' Six- tus replied to him : '• I do not leave you, my son. A greater contest is prepared for you. You will follow me in three days." The martyrdom of St. Saturninus, and St. Denis, are placed in the reign of Valerian. Saturninus, says the legend, had established his church at the capitol, at Toulouse, near to a temple dedicated to Jupiter, and cele- brated throughout all Gaul, for its oracle. But after the arrival of the holy man, the demons ceased to speak, the reputation of the idol re- ceived a great shock, and the oiferings were very much dimhnshed. Then the pagan priests proposed to Saturninus to build him a splen- did temple, without the city. Upon his re- fusal, they resolved to rid themselves of this pious bishop, by violence. On the day of a great festival, when the people had assembled for a solemn sacrifice, they saw Saturninus go- ing towards his churcn : •■ Behold," they cried, "the enemy of the gods, and tne chauipion of this new religion ! Behold him, who draws the anger of Jupiter upon us ! Shall he sac- rifice, or shall he die V Immediately the fanatical people seized on the holy bishop • they dragged him to the temple, forced lum to kneel before the statue of tfie god, and presented incense to him, to burn in honour of Jupiter. But, instead of obeying them, the martyr spat upon the idol. The pagan priests, bound him by the feet to the tail of a savage bull, destined for the sac- rifice. The animal, excited by the cries of the multitude, broke away with a bound, ran about the city, precipitated himself into the country, dragging in his course the corpse of Saturninus. At length, the cords breaking, some bloody frag-ments were left upon the ground, and were collected together by a poor female, who secretly buried them. The legends of the saints, are filled with acts so singular and marvellous, that the strongest faith cannot admit theirauthcnticity. Serious minds regard the martyrdom of Sa- turninus as a fable, invented by the priests ; and we shall place in the same rank, the be- heading of St. Denis, who, according to our martyrology, was decapitated with Eleu- therus and Rusticus, on iVIount Montmartre, took up his head after the execution, and car- ried it during a journey of more than a league, even to the chapel, which, at this very day, bears the name of this illustrious martyr. [A. D. 258.]— VACANCY IN THE HOLY SEE. MARTYRDOM OF SMNT LAWRENCE. After the martyrdom of Sixtus the Second, the See of Rome remained vacant for a year ; the martyrdom of St. Lawrence, is the only remarkable event which occurred in this in- terregnum. The holy deacon, on the day of the pon- tiffs death, distributed among the poor, the wealth of the church, not even excepting the vases used in the celebration of the Eucha- rist, which he sold to prevent them from fall- ing into the hands of the pagans. The report of these great alms, excited the cupidity of Cornelius Sajcularis, the prefect of Rome, who supposed that the Christians had immense treasures in reserve ] and in order to obtain them, he arrested Lawrence, who had them in his charge, as the deacon of the Roman church. The holy priest was led before the tribunal, and Cornelius interrogatetl him in these words: '-We are assured, that in your ceremonies, tlie ministers oirer the libations in vessels of goKl, and catch the blood of the victim in cups of silver; that in order to lighten up your nocturnal sacrifices, you have chandeliers of gold, in which you place can- dles, made of wax and perfumes ; we know that to supply these offerings, the brethren .sell their inheritances, and frequently reduce their children to poverty. Bring to the light of day, these concealed treasures ; the prince has need of them to maintain his troojis, and you ought, according to your own doctrine, to render unto Ca>sar the things which are Cajsar's. I do not su])pose your god coins money; he brought none when he came into the world, he brought oidy words; render up, therefore, your money, and be rich in words." St. Lawrence re])lied, firmly to the judge: '•' I own that our church is rich, and that the emperor has not so great treasures. Since you demand it, you shall see our most pre- cious goods; yield me only a few days to place all things in order, to make straight the state of our wealth, and prepare the calcula- tions." The prefect, trusting in this promise, and hoping to enrich himself from the treasures of the church, granted him thiee da} s. St. 44 HISTORY OF THE POPES, Lawrence, traversed the whole city, in order to find every where the poor, whom the church maintained, the lame, the nifirm, the mutilated ; he assembled them, wrote down their names, and on the third day, having ranged them in the square before the church, sought out the prefect: "Come contemplate the "treasures of our God ; you will see a great court, full of vases of gold, and all our weahh heaped up under the galleries." When Cornelius, perceived this troop of poverty-stricken wretches, who begged alms from him, he turned towards Lawrence, with treatening eyes. " False priest (said he) you shall be punished for your temerity !" '■'■ Why are you offended, my lord V replied the holy man ; the gold which you desire so ardently, is a vile metal, drawn from the earth, and which excites us to the commis- sion of all crimes. The true gold is the light of which these poor ones are disciples ; the great ones of the earth are poor, truly misera- ble and contemptible. Behold the treasures which I promised you ; behold these virgins and widows, who form the crown of the church. Avail yourself of 4hese riches for Rome, for the emperor, and for yourself." The prefect, in a transport of rage, exclaimed, '■'■ Wretch ! do you dare to despise the laws of the emperor, because you do not fear death — but the vengeance will be terrible !" Then he ordered the executioners to bring a bed of iron, under which were placed, half- extinguished coals, in order to burn the mar- tyr more slowly; they despoiled Lawrence of his garments, and fixed him on the gridiron. The resignation, and the courage he evinced, during this horrible punishment, converted several pagans, and among them persons of high distinction. The poet Prudentius re- lated, that the Neophytes, or newly-baptized Christians, affirmed, that his face was sur- rounded by an extraordinary brilliancy, and that a sweet odour exhaled from his consum- ing bones; he adds, also, that the infidels, and the impious, did not perceive the light or the odour. We must regard this, as a poetic ornament. It may be, that in the midst of his frightful torments, the blessed martyr did not cease to sing the praises of the Most High, and encouraged the faithful, to confess with him the holy doctrine of Jesus Christ. When he was calcined on one side, he said to the prefect, in order to sport with his cruelty, as he had before done with his avarice : " Agent of the devil, cause them to turn my body on the other side." When it was done, he had the stoical courage to say to him : " As I am now cooked, you can eat me." After the death of St. Lawrence, the perse- cution increased, and very many were mar- tyred throughout the empire. It carried off St. Cyprien, bishop of Carthage, and many very distinguished of the faithful. But his- tory throws no light on the combats which the clergy of Rome, had to maintain in this time of difficulty, and we are even ignorant of the state of ecclesiastical discipline, Nevertheless, the legends relate at length the martyrdom of twelve Christians of Utica, who were cast into a bed of quick lime, and whose relics, the faithful afterwards col- lected ; as the bodies formed a substance mixed with the lime, they enclosed, sa\ s the historian, this compact mass in an immense coffin, which was placed in the principal church. According to the same chronicles, Theo- genes, bishop of Hippona, was decapitated without the walls of the city, and three noble females. Maxima, Donatilla and Secunda, having refused to sacrifice to idols, were first violated by the executioner, and then be- headed. DENIS, THE TWENTY-SIXTH POPE. [Gallienus and Claudian, Emperors.] Birth of Denis— His humanity — He ransoms Christians taken prisoners by the Barbarians — Pursues the ambitious projects of his predecessors — Errors of the Millcnarians — Heresy of Paul of Samosata — Zenobia, queen of Palmyra — Excommunication of Paul — Death of the pope. Denis, was a Greek, and of a birth so ob- scure, that nothing is known of his family. In his early youth, he entered upon a cloistered life, and afterwards, was made a priest of the church of Rome, by St. Stephen. He had adopted the opinions of his bishop in relation to the baptism of heretics, but it appears, that he did not conduct himself with the same violence in this quarrel. The emperor Valerian, having been van- quished, and taken prisoner by the Persians, Gallienus, his son and successor, took the reins of government. The inaptitude of this new prince, exposed the provinces of the empire to the ravages of the barbarians. The city of Caesarea, in Cappadociawas ruined, sacked, and its citizens carried into slavery. As soon as Denis was informed of this disaster, he hastened not only to write to this afflicted church, but to send money into Cappadocia by safe hands, to ransom the Christian cap- tives from the barbarians; and he did not cease his charity, from the recollection of the old contest of Firmilian, with his predecessor. Pope Stephen. St. Athanasius, whose testimony is of great weight, relates several honourable acts of this pontiff", whom he regarded as among the an- HISTORY OF THE POPES. 4b cienl fathers, who were the most capable of informing us of the doctrine of the church, and of establishing rules for the government of general councils. Some years after, the faithful in Egypt car- ried tlu'ir complaints to Rome against Denis^ bishop of Alexandria, wIkjhi they accused ot advocating impious maxims, in the books which he wrote against the Sabellians. in or- der to establish the distinction in the divine persons. This accusation was frivolous, but the pope making use of it, in order to extend his power over the churches, and follow up the system of Stephen, consented to give judgment. He was somewhat guarded, how- ever, in his measures, and not wishing to decide of his own authority in the matter, assembled a council, which disapproved of the doctrines of the bishop of Alexandria, and ordered that prelate to submit to the Holy See, and to go to Rome, to clear up the points which liad been condemned. The error of the Millenarians, had been for a long time established in Egypt, and threat- ened to overrun the west. The principal author of this sect. Bishop Nepos, rendering too judaically the text of the Holy Scriptures, maintained that Jesus Christ would reign on earth for a thousand years, and that the saints would enjoy in heaven, all the pleasures of the senses. Nepos founded his opinions upon the Apocalypse of St. John, and drew after him a great number of the faithful ; history does not apprise us of the steps taken by Denis, the bishop of Rome, to put a stop to this heresy. Soon after, the doctrines of Paul of Samo- sata, bishop of Antioch, excited a violent con- troversy in the church. Zenobia, queen of Palmyra, a princess of ability beyond her sex, wishing to know the principles of the Christian religion, addressed herself to bishop Paul, in order to be instructed in its myste- ries. But this prelate had singular opinions for the age. He called Christ a man, and not a God. He taught the people the sublime morality of the evangelists, and neglected to instmct them in the dogmas of religion. The bishops of the east, scandalized at his con- duct, assembled at Antioch, and pursued him as "a wolf, which ravaged the Hock of the Lord." The council, animated by the fana- tical zeal which has always distinguished ecclesiastical assemblies, proceeded to judge Paul of Samosata. By his elocjuence, the philosophical priest prevailed on them to sus- pend the condemnation, which they were on the point of pronouncing against him and his doctrine. Finally, it was perceived, that Paul had used dissimulation, and that he had cor- rected neither his sentiments nor his morals. They then assembled anew, to the number of seventy, and condemned him for having trilled with their credulity, and the pacific in- tentions of Firmilian, who had presided over the first synod. Paul, convinced of error of doctrine, and looseness of morals, was deposed and excom- municated by the council. Pope Denis died on the 26th of December, in the year 269, during the reign of the empe- ror Claudius the Second and Paternus, after filling the episcopal chair for ten years and some months. He was interred in the ceme- tery of Callistus. During the pontificate of Denis, the philoso- pher Plotinus, celebrated for his great learn- ing, flourished at Rome. This extraordinary man had not only drawn among his disciples a great number reared in the doctrines of paganism, but he even led off the sectarians of the new religion, and caused the churches of the Christians to be deserted, whenever he delivered his public instruction. He pretended, like Socrates, to have a fami- liar demon ; and affirmed, that by the light of reason alone, one could elevate himself as high as the sovereign God ; who had, accord- ing to him, neither form nor essence, and was indefinable by human words. He combatted all the Christian sects, and especially the Gnostics, who believed in spirits or secon- dary demons, among whom fig-ured Christ. Historians relate, that just before he died, Plotinus, turning to his disciples, said to them: ''T go to reunite that of the divine, which ex- isted in me, to that of the divine which exists in the universe." FELIX THE FIRST, THE TWENTY-SEVENTH POPE. [A. D. 270. — Claudius the Second, and Aurelian, Emperors.] Elcvntion of Felix — Paul of Samosata resists the decree of the council — He is driven from his See — Death of the pope. Fki.ix was a Roman, and the son of Con- stantius. He succeeded Denis, on the last day of the year 269. We know of none of the actions of his life, until his arrival at the pon- tificate. On mounting the chair of St. Peter, he found the church tranquil without, but torn within by the heresy of Paul of Samosata, of H-hom we have spoken, in the history of the preceding reign. This bishop, supported by the favour of the idolatrous magistrates, and the credit which he had at Antioch, refused to submit to the decree of the council, which, having condemned and deposed him, had named to fill his place Domnus, the son of Demetrius. Paul, refusing to quit the epis- copal residence, recourse was had to the 46 HISTORY OF THE POPES. authority of the emperor Aurelian, ^Yho judged the aiFair with great justice. The prince de- cided, that the possession of the episcopal palace pertained to those who entertained relations with the bishop of Rome, and the other prelates of Italy, and that pope Felix, having refused to hold communion wdth Paul of Samosata, he should consequently be driven from his See. Felix died, according to general belief, on the 22d of December, in the year 274, having governed the church five years. He was in- terred in the cemetery of Callistus. EUTYCHIANUS, THE TWENTY-EIGHTH POPE. [A. D. 275. — AuRELiAN, Tacitus, Florian, Proeus and Carus, Emperors.] Election of Eutychian — Numerous fables in regard to him — Heresy of 31anes — Curious history, and extravagant quarrels — Death of the pope. After the death of Felix the First, the clergy, and the faithful people of Rome, chose Eutychianus to govern the church. The city of Luna, in Tuscany, was the country of the pontiff, and his father was named Marinus. History teaches us nothing positive of the ac- tions of his life ■ nevertheless, we might fonn volumes, were we to believe the fables which •are related of the holy father, and of which all the pontifical writings could not guarantee the authenticity. During his reign sprung up the famous heresy of JManes; but without entering into the details of the life of this wretch, we will content ourselves with explaining his extra- vagant doctrine. He maintained, that there existed in the universe two principles, contra- ry to and co-eternal wath each other; God and matter, light and darkness; the author of good, and the author of evil ; the one the author of the New Testatament. the other of the Bible. He rejected the holy evange- lists, and called himself the spirit, sent by Jesus Christ. He affirmed that the Saviour had only the appearance of humanity, and had not suffered in reality. According to him, good and evil were substances. He re- garded the earth, flesh, magistrates, kings and sin, as the creation of the evil principle. He denied that the actions of men were free, prohibited marriage, and blamed the people who made war. He forbade his disciples to eat flesh or eggs, or to drink milk, or wine, which he called the gall of the devil. The Manicheans administered the eucha- rist in one kind, and profaned it by mingling with it human seed. They pretended that Jesus Christ was the Sun, and that he revealed bis divinity by plunging the earth into dark- ness, on the day of his death. They reg-arded the moon as the abode of the Trinity, and the air as a river, on which the souls of the dead were wafted to eternal light. They did not believe in a general resurrection, and maintained that the souls of those they called followers, passed into the souls of the chosen, and returned to God, after having been purified ; that the souls of the wicked were enclosed in the bodies of beasts, in plants and trees ; and they regarded labourers as homicides. This doctrine extended itself into all the provinces of the empire, and lasted several years; perchance it would not have made so great progress, but for its wildness and extra- vagance, for the nature of men leads them to follow after things which are the most sin- gular, and least reasonable. The followers of Manes announced, that they did not wish to imitate the Catholics ; that the}" employed not persecution, but simple reason, to free men from error, and lead them to God. Their teachers were powerful in argument, and their mild and insinuating manners insensibly at- tracted men to their ideas. We translate one of their dialogues in the style of the period. "A Catholic was complaining of the flies, and said to a INIanichean, that he coixkl not endure these insects, and that God should destroy them. The Manichean demanded of him 'Who made them?' The Catholic in his wrath dared not reply that it was God. The Manichean — • If it is not God, who then has made them?' 'I believe it is the devil.' 'If the devil made the flies, as your good sense causes you to declare, who made the bees'?' The other dared not say, that God had made the bee and not the fly. From the bee, the other led him on to the grasshopper, the lizard, a bird, a sheep, an ox, an elephant, and at last to man ; and finally, persuaded him that God had not made man." History does not teach us what measures Eutychian took to check this heresy. The ISlartyrology only tells us, that the holy father ordered the priests to consecrate upon the altar figs, apples and grapes, in order to over- throw the doctrine of Manes, who prohibited from eating fruits. He ordered, also, that the bodies of martyrs should be enveloped in purple, and he himself performed this last duty to three hundred and forty martyrs ; but the sacred historians leave us in ignorance in what persecution the church lost so great a number of the faithful. At length the pon- tiff" Eutychianus went to receive the fruit of his labours, on the 8th of December, in the year 283. Orosus and Sozomenes have left us a pic- ture descriptive of the misfortunes of the em- pire, during these last pontificates. "TVia ■The HISTORY OF THE POPES, 47 armies, said they, disposed at their will, of the sui^reme power. Their leaders by turns seized the power, and the infamous Cyriatles, a Persian by birth, was the chief of these thirty tyrants, who ruled the world for a pe- riod of several years. '■ During their execrable rule, evils of all kind weighed down the empire ; Britain was conquered by the Caledonians and Saxons; Gaul, by the Franks, the Germans and the Burgunclians ; Italy, by the Germans, the Suevi, the Marcomans and the Quadi ; Media, Macedonia and Thrace, by the Goths, the Heruli, and the Sarmatians ; the Persians over- ran, even to the very borders of Syria ; civil war, famine, and pestilence, rviined cities and destroyed populations, which had escaped the sword of the barbarians) towns were over- thrown by earthquakes, which lasted several daj'S ; the sea flowed up from its bed, and in- undated entire provinces; in Nubia, in Achaia, and at Rome, the earth opened, and swallow- ed up fields and houses." Thus, add the ecclesiastical historians, did God commence to show forth his vengeance against the persecutors of his church, which increased in fecundity through the blood of its glorious martyrs. CAIUS, THE TWENTY-NINTH POPE. [A. D. 283. — Carus, Carinus, Numerian and Diocletian, Emperors Election of Cams — Cruelty of Maximian — Martyrdom of the Theban legion — Remonstrances of tlie soldiers — Cowardly flight of the pope — Extravagant rules — Death of Caius. If the ancient pontificals are to be credited, Caius was a Dalmatian, and a relative of the emperor Diocletian. During the early period of his reign, the church enjoyed an apparent tranquillity, and the emperors gave no formal order to persecute the Christians. There were, nevertheless, executions — and the pon- tificate of Caius was rendered illustrious, through the martyrdom of St. Maurice, and of the celebrated Theban legion. Maximian, on whom the emperor had be- stowed the title of Cajsar, had passed over into Gaul to combat the factions of Amandus, Elienus, and the Bagaudi. After having con- quered his enemies, the Caesar brought from the east a legion called the Theban, com- posed of Christians, whom he wished to employ, together with his other soldiers, in fiersecuting the faithful ; but the legion re- used to march, and formed its camp at the foot of the mountain, now called the great St. Bernard. Maximian, irritated at this disobe- dience, demanded troops from the emperor to conquer the rebels. Diocletian sent reinforce- ments to him, ordering him to decimate the soldiers, and to reiterate his commands for the persecution of the Christians. The Thebans declared that they persevered in their resolu- tion: then Maximian commanded them to be decimated a second time, and that the survi- vors should obey. This second execution did not (juell their courage. These soldiers of Christ were commanded by three principal oihcers— Maurice, Kuxperus and Candidus, who exhorted them to die for their religion, and recalled to their recollec- tion the example of their comrades, whom martyrdom had already conducted to heaven. Still they wished to avert the wrath of the tyrant, and addressed to him a remonstrance, full of nobleness and firmness. "We are your soldiers, my lord, but we freely confess that we are the servants of God ; we owe to our prince duty in war, to God our innocence ; we receive from you pay, He has given us life ; we cannot obey you and renounce God our creator, our master and yours. If you ask of us nothing injurious, we will obey your orders as we have done to this time ; otherwise, we shall obey Him rather than you. We offer the services of our arms against your enemies, but we do not believe we are permitted to bathe them in the blood of the innocent. We took an oath to God, before we did to you, and you can have no confidence in the second, if we violate the first. You command us to seek out Chris- tians, in order to punish them ; you have no need of seeking others, behold we are such. We confess God the Father, author of all things, and Jesus Christ his Son. We have seen you put to death our companions without mourning, and we have rejoiced that they have been honoured in sulferiiig for their God. Despair has not driven us to revolt ; we have arms in our hands, but we have not used them, because, we prefer to die inno- cent, rather than live culpable." Maximian, not being able to conquer a courage so heroic, ordered his officers to put them all to death ; troops were marched to surround them, and cut them in pieces: but instead of offering the least resistance, these unfortunate soldiers laid down their arms, and offered their necks to their persecutors. The earth was inundated by str(>ains of Mood. Six thousand men, the usual number of a legion, were put to death by the orders of the tyrant. During the persecution which Diocletian then caused the church to undergo, the pontiff Caius had the prudence to save himself by fhght. Some authors attribute to him extravagant rules. According to them, he ordained that 48 HISTORY OF THE POPES. a pagan or a heretic should not accuse a Christian ; but such a decree would have been the signal of revolt against the secular power, and we cannot admit that Caius had the rash- ness to wish to brave the legitimate authority of the pagan magistrates, or that he ordained [ metery of Callistus. a rule which he had no power to cause to be obeyed. He died on the 24th of April, in the year 296; after having occupied the Episcopal See for twelve years. He was interred in the ce- MARCELLINUS, THE THIRTIETH POPE. [A. D. 296. — Diocletian and Maximian, Emperors.] Election of Mar cdlinus— Persecution ly Diocletian— Refections on the priests of the nineteenth century— Horrible torments and sufferings of martyrs— the pope abjures Christianity— His death. Marcellinus was a Roman, and the son of Projectus j he was chosen to succeed Caius during the reign of Diocletian. Some years after his exaltation, the emperor excited the most cruel persecution against the Christians, which had occurred since the apostles' times. It broke out in the year 303, and all the pro- vinces of the empire were inundated with the blood of the martyrs. We give a passage from Eusebius, to put the reader in possession of the situation of the church, before thispersecution. -'The doctrine of Christ was held in great esteem and respect among the Greeks and barbarians," wrote the holy bishop ; '■ the church enjoyed the free exercise of its worship ; the emperors bore a lively affection to the Clnistians, and entrust- ed them with the government of provinces, without compelling them to sacrifice to idols; they were to be found in the courts of princes, and were permitted to practise, together with their wives, children and slaves, the duties of their religion. " Dorotheus, one of the most renowned Christians, had been honoured with the friend- ship of the sovereign ; an enlightened magis- trate, and skillful governor of a province, he had evinced for the emperors, great proofs of his fidelity and zeal. The illustrious Gorgonus, and with him all those who had imitated their zeal for religion, partook of his power and credit. The bishops were honoured and che- rished by the people, and the governors of the provinces. Multitudes of pagans came daily to make a profession of faith; churches were erected in every city ; the people ren- dered to God solemn acts of thanks, and the temples were not large enough to contain the faithful. •' But too great liberty caused a relaxation of discipline, and the war commenced with outrageous lang-uage; the bishops, animated the one against the other, excited quarrels and disorders; at length, when falsehood and de- ceit were carried to the utmost excess. Divine justice lifted its arm to punish, and permitted that the faithful, who had entered upon the profession of arms, should be the first to be persecuted. Still they remained in a culpa- ble insensibility; instead of appeasing the anger of God, they added crimes to crimes ; the priests despising the holy rules of piety, contended and quarrelled among themselves, fomented enmities and hatred, disputed for the first place as in secular aflhirs ." Such was the corruption of the ecclesiastics towards the end of the third century. Since that period, the derelictions of the clergy have increased ; the priests show themselves always the same — always avaricious, ambi- tious, debauchees, proud, vindictive — always enemies of repose and of true piety — always dissimulators. Such at least was the opinion of Platinus; and that which we see in our own day, should convince us of the truth of these accusations. Nevertheless, there were still found holy souls, who imitated the heroic example of the Theban soldiers. Many faithful gloried in the name of Christ, and terminated their lives by a sad martyrdom. Diocletian, the persecu- tor, declared in his edicts that the execution- ers were permitted to invent new tortures for the Christians : they were beaten with heavy clubs, with pliant sticks, with scourges, with leathern lashes, and with cords; they were bound with their hands fastened to posts, or quartered by machines; then they rent them with iron hooks, and tore off their flesh from their thighs, their bellies and their cheeks; some were suspended by one hand, othefs were bound to columns, so that their feet 1 could not touch the earth, in order that the weight of the body should pull upon their bonds and augment their sufferings ; in this state they underwent the interrogatories of the governor, and remained in torture for en- tire days. When the judge passed on to other patients, he left officers to watch for those, who, yielding to the power of their torments, would consent to deny Jesus Christ ; and when they were foiled in their efibrt, the exe- cutioner mercilessly tightened the bonds until the martyrs were ready to die, when they loosened them from the posts, and dragged them to the earth, in order to revive them for new punishments. The pope Marcellinus, during this unfortu- nate period, solemnly abjured the Christian religion ; authors affirm, that according to the most authentic testimony, he offered incense to idols in the temples of Isis and Vesta, in HISTORY OF THE POPES, 49 the presence of many of the faithful; in order to iathice them to imitate the example of cowardice which he set them. They add, that afterwards a council, assembled at Sien- na to judge the pope, dared not condemn him. The bishops, who were at the sjTiod, said to him, '-condemn yourself by your own mouth, but you will not be excommunicated by our judgment." Marcellinus died on the 24th of' October 304, after having held the Holy See for eight years and three months. He was interred in the cemetery of Priscilla. POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE THIRD CENTURY. Septimus Scvcrus — Puts to death senators — His vices and virtues — Debaucheries of his wife — Caracalla — Shamelessness of Julia his mother — Espouses her — Kills his brother — Buries alive four vestal virgins — Macrimts a debauched prince — Heliogobalus — Human sacrifices — Incest with his mother— Marcus Aurelius—Assassinaied, because of his vvtves~Maximin~His gluttony — His cruelty — His prodigious strength — The three Gordians — Philip usurps the empire — Dccius — Gallus — Aurelian — Valerian falls into the power of the king of Persia — Gallienus — 7/i.s defects — Claudius catiscs them to render divine honours to Gullioius — Aurelian — He is assassinated — Tacitus — His virtues — His generosity — Assassinated by the soldiers — Florian, his brother — Seizes on the empire — Is slain by the soldiery — Probus chosen, emperor — Assassi- nated by the soldiers — Carinus — Numerian — Arrius — Apcr massacres Numerian — Diocletian puts Aper to death — His cruelty — His avarice — His passion for building — Maximian Hercules^ associated in the empire — He violates young females — His vices — Opinion upon absolute monarchies. Septimus Severus, after having been de- clared emperor by the army of Pannonia, combatted those who made pretensions to the empire, and massacred forty senators, who had supported Albinus his rival. After that, he was occupied by the war ag-ainst the Par- thians. He travelled over different provinces of the empire, and caused an entrenchment of a hundred and thirty-two thousand paces in length to be constructed in England. He died at York, in the year 212. Shortly before his death, he called to him his two sous, Bas- tianus and Geta, and said to them, as his last paternal advice: ''My children, remain united, live well together, and do not trouble yourselves beyond that." This prince had great virtues ; he was fond of philosophy and belles letters; he did not pardon the least faults, and his severity retained his officers in their duty. He was humane and generous, but was too indulgent towards his wife, of whose debaucheries he was not igiiorant, and who had even conspired against his life. Septimus Severus left his empire to his son Antoninus Bastianus, surnamed Caracalla, be- cause he wore a long robe, after the fashion of the Gauls. This prince, in the early part of his reign, having accidentally encountered the empress, his mother, clothed in a loose costume, and with her bosom bare, cried out in an amorous transport, " I would, if I were permitted." The shameless princess replied, " You can, my son, if you will; for there ex- ists no law for emperors and kings." Of a base and furious character. Caracalla had already drawn the sword to slay his father; afterwards he assassinated his brother Geta. who reigned conjointly with him ; and caused four vestal Anrgins to be buried alive, in order to amuse himself with this frightful punishment. The memory of Alexander was Vol. I. G so dear to him, that he threatened the most severe punishments against philosophers, who adopted the sentiments of Aristotle; and he wished to burn all the works of that historian, because he was suspected of having aided to poison that conqueror. One day, he informed the senate that the soul of Alexander had entered into his own body, and ordered his courtiers to call him the conqueror of Darius. During his reign, he put to death twenty thousand persons in punishments, and laid enoi-mous imposts on all the provinces of the empire. He was slain, after a reign of six years and two months. On the death of Caracalla, Opiluis JNIacri- nus, a man of verj- obscure birth, seized upon the empire ; but his debaucheries having ren- dered him odious to the army, he \\-as slain, after a reign of one year and two months. Marcus Antoninus Varius Heliogobalus, the son of Caracalla and Julia, succeeded Macri- nus. This prince was another Sardanapalus. Like him, a priest of the sun. he sacrificed to his idol the handsomest children in Italy. He was killed by his soldiers, in the year 222; and his mother, who had become the wife of this monster, was put to death at the same time. Marcus Aurelius Septimus Alexander suc- ceeded him, and was friendly to the Chris- tians. He drove from his court flatterers and buffoons; and not being willing, tliat justice should be venal, he prohibited the judges from receiving presents. Maximin, one of his principal officers, excited some legions to revolt, and killed this virtuous prince. Cains Julius Verus IMaximin, after this murder, seized upon the empire. He was more than eight feet in height, and so large, that the bracelet of his wife served for a thumb-ring for him. His strength was extnu 50 HISTORY OF THE POPES. ordinary, and no horse could run so fast. In ] his gluttonous appetite, he ate sixty pounds of meat, and drank twenty-four measures of wine, in a day. The senators, fearing to be- come the victims of his cruehy, declared him an enemy of the republic ; and he was put to death — together with his son, whom he had associated with him in the empire — by the soldiery. • The oldest of the three Gordians was de- clared emperor by the army, which he com- manded in the name of the senate. His son, Gordian the Second, having been conquered and slain in battle with the enemies of the empire, he strangled himself through despair. The young Gordian, son of Gordian the Second, was chosen in his place. This prince had the qualities, of both mind and body, necessary for a good governor. He gained great victories, which appeared to presage a happy reign j but he encountered a traitor in his army who bIbv/ liim, in order to seize upon the empire. The .senate did not wish to recognize Phi- lip as emperor, nevertheless, it confii-med his election, in order to avoid a revolt of the le- gions. Decius, in his turn seduced the soldiers, who massacred Philip in his camp at Verona. Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius, after having conquered Philip, was chosen emperor by the suffrages of the ai-my. His reign was signalized by a violent persecution, which he excited against the Christians. Trebonianus Gallus marched against him, at the head of his legions, and having sur- prised him in an ambuscade, pursued him into the marshes, where Decius perished, without their being able to recover his body. Gallus then entered into a disgraceful alli- ance with the Goths, and notwdthstanding his cowardice, he was saluted as emperor by a legion ) but soon after, the soldiers murdered him, together with his son. The Scythians and Persians continued to make irruptions into the Roman provinces. Julius Emilianus, alone dared to encounter these barbarians, and gained over them bril- liant victories. He was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers, who massacred him three months afterwards. Licinius Valerian, a man of superior merit and great excellence, was elevated to the im- perial dignity. His good qualities, gave pro- mise of a reigni of justice, mildness and equity. Unfortunately, he permitted himself to be corrupted by Macrian, a celebrated Egyptian magician, who caused him to commit great faults, and excited him ag-ainst the Christians. This same Macrian, repaid his benefits by the most infamous treason. He led him into an ambuscade, and delivered him into the hands of Sapor, king of the Persians. The emperor was condemned to the most cruel slavery. Historians aflirm, that the Persian monarch, used the back of Valerian as a stool, when- ever he wished to mount his horse. After several years of suffering, the unhappy prince was condemned to be flayed, and buried alive in a vat of salt. Licinius GaUienus, after the death of his father, was chosen emperor. He was cruel, cowardly and lu.xurious. He laid pretensions to the character of a man of learning, and de- livered speeches and poems. During his reign, the empire was given up to pillage, and his bad conduct placed the management of afi'airs in a council of thirty tyrants, who ruled the state according to their caprice and their interest ) at last he was surprised, and put to death by Aureolus. Flavins Claudius the Second, having been declared emperor in 268, caused divine ho- nours to be rendered to the celebrated GaUie- nus. Historians e.xtol this prince highly, and maintain, that had he lived longer, he would have surpassed the Camilli and the Scipios. He conquered the Goths, exterminated thirty- two thousand Germans in a battle fought in 269; defeated Aureolus near Milan, and van- quished Zenobia, who had subjugated Egypt. Valerius Aurelian, a man of obscure birth, was chosen emperor, after the death of Clau- dius the Second. He was as successful as that prince in his wars, and equally distin- guished himself by his virtues. The victo- ries which he gained over the enemies of the empire, procured for him a magnificent tri- umph at Rome. He then passed over into Sclavonia, with the intention of subjugating the Persians, whom he had already conquer- ed. Whilst on his march, Mnestheus, his secretary, whom he had threatened, on ac- count of some indications of treason, counter- feited his handwriting, and seeking out some officers, who were friendly to him, showed them, on a forged list, the names of those W'hom Aurelian purposed to put to death, and his own among them, which he had placed there, in order to render the counterfeit more resembling the truth. On this, they resolved to be before-hand with the emperor, and assassinated him in his camp, between By- zantium and Heraclea. The historians, Aure- lius Victor and Eutropus, say, that Aurelian was cruel and sanguinary, and did not keep within bounds, in the punishments he in- flicted. Marcus Aurelius, or Claudius Tacitus, was chosen by the senate, after a contest of six months, to succeed Aurelian. This prince, a man of letters, vaunted himself on having for a relative, the admirable Aurelius Tacitus, the historian. By his orders, ten copies of the annals of his ancestor were transcribed every year, which he placed in the archives. To other great qualities, he added sobriety, and moderation. Before his elevation to the throne, he was worth seven million crowns of gold, which he generously distributed to the people, and payed his soldiers with his savings ; nevertheless, he was assassinated by them, they having killed his cousin, and feared they would be punished for the crime. Marcus Aunius Florian, the brother of Ta- citus, seized the empire which he kept, however, but a month or two. He was con- quered by Probus, near the city of Tarsus, and was massacred by the army. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 51 Aurelius Probus, the son of a gardener or labourer, was chosen emperor in spite of him- self. Before clothing himself with the impe- rial mantle, he assembled the legions and said to them, " Soldiers, you know not what you do ; as it is impossible for me to flatter you, we will not live well together." But the army having proclaimed him three times the most worthy of the crown, he covered his shoulders with the purple, and received the oaths of the legions, as chief of the state. In the course of his reign he defeated four hun- dred thou.-^and Germans; subjugated seventy cities, and would have pushetl his conquests still lurther. if nine of their kings had not prostrated themselves at his feet to sue for peace. He then subjugated Clavonia, Russia, and Poland, and passed over into Thrace, where he gained brilliant victories, which procured for him the honour of a triumph. This prince, of a severe disposition, never allowed his soldiers to be idle ; he employed them constantly on works useful for the safety, the ornament, or the advantage of the province in which they were. The legions, fatigued by discipline, massacred him, after a reign of six years and four months. This glorious in- scription was placed on his tomb : " Here lies the emperor Probus, the conqueror of barbarian nations, the conqueror of the tyrants of nations."' Marcus Aurelius Carus, merited the em- pire, from his good qualities, and his great actions. He had two sons — Numerian, esteem- ed for his virtues, and Carinus, despised for his vices. It was unfortimate for his people, that this good prince reigned but two years. His death was so gi'eat a stroke to Numerian, that it was feared he would lose his life, from the quantity of tears which he shed. Cari- nus, the younger of his sons, was slain in Dalmatia, in a battle against Diocletian ; and Arius Aper, massacred Numerian, in the hopes of succeeding him ; but Diocletian disputed the power with this new pretender, and re- mained sole master of the empire. Aurelius Valerius Diocletian, the son of a freedman, or of the secretary of a senator, as- sociated with him in the government, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximian, his intimate friend. In the course of his reign, he exhi- bited great qualities, as a soldier and a states- man, in successfully defending the empire against the incursions of the barbarians. His avarice was, however, excessive. He over- burthcned the people with imposts, in order to increase his treasures, and accused sena- tors of conspiracies against the state in order to seize upon their goods. His passion for buildings, caused him to be called, the mason of the empire, and he compelled the provinces to furnish workmen and materials, to build his palaces. Abusing the sovereign power, this prince, crael, shameless, destitute of faith and honour, caused them to carry off young gills and boys, for his debauches, and aban- doned himself publicly to his ill-regulated passions. The people, were not only compelled to suf- fer from the tyranny of the execrable Diocle- tian, but they hacl to deplore still greater evils when he associated with him the cruel Maximian and the two Caesars, Gallerius and Constantine Chloras. Instead of one master, they had four, who had each his court and army, which quadrupled dignities and places, and consequently, the public expenses. In order to supply this frightful increase of ex- penses, the emperors oppressed and massa- cred the citizens, and ransacked the provinces, until the lields and cultivated grounds were converted into solitudes; they then abandoned these devastated territories, in order to com- mit elsewhere the same ravages. As for Diocletian, that proud upstart, he seated himself on a throne of massive gold, shining with precious stones, and caused him- self to be adored as a god, as well as his asso- ciates in the empire. In the official language of the time, the public orators even did honour to their letters and decrees ; all that appertained to them, partook of a divine cha- racter, as well as their persons. The exche- quer was, in sacriligeous mockery, called the sacred largesses ; and the apartment in wliich they slept, the holy chamber. This community of dignity, brought about a new sign of reverence, very ridiculous; neither acted nor governed, but in the name of all ; the petitions and discourses addressed to them, and all public and private relations with each of them were obliged, necessarily, to confonn to this rule of unity. One was spoken to as representing three others, and individual actions \vere no longer distinguish- ed; and this close imion which united them in indivisible praise, was rigorously observed. Flattery seized upon this political precaution, and shortly habituated itself to clothe each prince, individually, with this collective im- portance. The grammar even was changed, and they were taught in the schools to say, " you,"' to a single person. As inferiors, seek always to exalt themselves by an imitation of the great, this absurdity, became a general forni of distinction and compliment, which, from the Latin, has passed into modern lan- guages. Diocletian, in corrupting the manners and customs, which are the basis of all govern- ment, prepared the way for the fall of the Roman empire, and taught nations this grand tmth, that monarchies fall under their own weight, when the lights of reason and philo- sophy illumine the people, and teach them to know, that they are not destined to be the slaves of kings. 62 HISTORY OF THE POPES. THE FOURTH CENTURY. VACANCY IN THE HOLY SEE. [A. D. 301. — CoNSTANTiNE Chlorus, Emperor.] Usages introduced in the first ages — Assembly of the faithful — Ceremonies of the Eucharist^ and of baptism — Fasts — Rigor of discipline — Imaginary rights of the popes — Council of Cirtha composed of bishops, defiled with the greatest crinws — The debauchery of St. Boniface — Fabu- lous history of his martyrdom — Knavery of the priests. After the death of Marcellinus. the Roman clergy governed the church of that city, for the space of three years. During the first three centuries, religion, op- pressed by the pagans, made slow and diffi- cult progress. The faithful were forced to as- semble by night, in private houses, in upper rooms, in the baths, under porticos, in the ce- meteries, and even in the tombs, in order to administer the eucharist, and pray. But Christians, animated by a holy zeal, assembled at these places,* regardless of a shameful and violent death. The priests read the Old and New Testament, as the Protest- ants now do. The people brought bread and wine, for the administration of the eucharist. The communion was distributed, in both kinds, to all who were baptized, and the ceremonies terminated with a collection for the poor of the church. In the first century, fountains and rivers supplied the baptismal water. Then this sa- crament was administered to the sick, and children, in private houses, and in prisons. Next they went further from apostolic simpli- city j for, in the time of Tertullian, infants were anointed, and they presented honey and milk, making many signs of the cross, and the baptized were clothed in a white gannent. The communion was administered indiffer- ently ; either in the morning, fasting, or in the evening, after supper The eucharist — that is, the consecrated bread and wine — was carried to the sick and absent. As for fasts, they were discretional, and no one was constrained to observe them. In the second century, the faithful adopted the custom of praying for the dead ) and, ac- cording to Tertullian, the prayers were pre- ceded by many signs of the cross. In order to distinguish themselves from the pagans, they also abstained from eating the flesh of ajiimals which had been strangled. In the third century, a difference arose as to the administration of baptism to children ; and, at the same time, the fast of Saturday, in commemoration of the burial of Jesus Christ, was introduced at Rome. But this cus- tom was not approved of by the Orientals. Christian worship had not yet altars. A single table of marble, served for the commu- nion of the faithful. The discipline was, how- ever, very severe against those who had com- mitted homicide, adultery, or incest — or who had been convicted of apostacy. In the fu'st ages, a public confession was exacted. The Grecian, and Eastern churches had appointed a penitential priest, who compelled the cul- pable to wait without the gates of the churchy clothed in sackcloth, mournmg, and on their knees. Fasts, of several years, were imposed, according to the magnitude of their sins. Sub-deacons were then established in the church ; but history makes no mention of pa- triarchs, archbishops, or metropolitans. The bishops of the principal sees, unjustly arro- gated to themselves superiority over those of the same country, and sometimes over those of several provinces, when these were de- pendent on the great cities. The popes, in their turn, put in the same pretensions, and the cowardice of the magistrates has rendered too real, their imaginary rights of jurisdiction, both spiritual and temporal. The persecution of Diocletian commenced to subside, in Italy, soon after the death of pope Marcellinus, and terminated shortly after in Africa. Then the bishops of Numidia, as- sembled at Cirtha, to give a pastor to that city ; but these prelates were all apostates : some had surrendered the holy books to the pagans — others were soiled with great crimes. They soon agreed, and elevated to the see of the capital of Numidia, a bishop, celebrated in ecclesiastical history for his debaucherj" and his incests. The sacred authors fix the martyrdom of St. Boniface, as occurring at this period. We give the legend : '-'A woman of illustrious birth, named Aglaa, dwelt in Italy, where she pos- sessed wealth so enormous, that she had three times exhibited public games to the Roman people. Seventy-three supervisors had charge of her estates ; and above all the others, she had placed a general supervisor, named Boni- face, her favourite. He carried on a criminal intercourse with his mistress, and abandoned himself to all kinds of debauchery. But divine grace descended on his wicked soul, and initiated him into the truths of the Chris- tian religion. Aglaa, touched with repentance for her past errors, surrendered herself to the most extreme practices of devotion ; and, as her faults were great, she wished to keep fair with God by means of powerful protec- tion. Not finding at Rome rhartyrs sufficiently distinguished, she sent Boniface to travel in the East, to bring back relics of illustrious martyrs. " As soon as Boniface had arrived at Tarsus, in Cihciaj where the persecution still warmly HISTORY OF THE POPES. 53 raged, he hastened, according to the orders of his mistress, to go to the public square, in order to see the martyrs in their torments. Some were hung, head downwards, before a slow fire ; others quartered, upon four stakes, sawn asunder by the executioners — torn with hot pincers. Their hands were cut off, and tongues torn out. Others were fastened to the earth by stakes, driven through the throat, and were beaten by the clubs of the execu- tioners. Boniface approached these martyrs, twenty in number, and exhorted them to com- bat, as true champions of the faith, in order to carry off an immortal crown. He was im- mediately arrested, and conducted before the tribunal of the governor. But, far from re- tracting, he had the courage to call him ' an infamous wretch — a serpent of darkness — a man veiled in crime.' Language so energetic, in the mouth of a new Christian, drew upon this stranger frightful punishment, and Boni- face was condemned to be beheaded. '•' The next day, his companions sought him through the city, and not finding him, said, 'Our superior is in a tavern, enjoying himself, whilst we trouble ourselves with hunting for him.' WhiLst thus discussing, they met the brother of the jailen and asked him if he could aid them in their search after a stranger, but now arrived from Rome. He replied to them : ' Yesterday, an Italian was martyrized for Jesus Christ, and his head has been thrown into the arena.' 'He, whom we seek, is a thick set man, of light complexioiij who wears a scarlet mantel, a roue, and a debauchee: who has nothing in common with a martyr.' They followed him, however, and the jailer showed them the dead body of Boniface. Then he took up the head of the martyr, and gave it to them. Then the month of the martyr smiled, through the aid of the Holy Spirit. Then his friends mourned bitterly over his unfortunate end, and carried away his corpse with them. '■' On the same daj^, an angel appeared to Aglaa, and said, ' He who was your slave, is now our brother. Receive him as your lord, and treat him with honor, for all your sins will be remitted, by means of his intercession.' Aglaa immediately transformed her palace into an oratory ; and shutting herself up with holy priests, she prepared, with prayers, to receive the body of the martyr. When her envoys came near the city, she walked with naked feet, and in her chemise, before the precious relics, which she deposited, in the midst of flowers and perfumes, in a magnifi- cent tomb, which she had erected at fifty stadia from Rome." The legend adds, that the saint performed great miracles — that he drove out devils, and healed the sick. During this vacancy in the Holy See. many- other executions of the faithful are related, which took place in Thessalonica. Among others, the martyrdom of the young Irene, who received the glorious palm upon a high mountain, where she was burned alive. MARCELLUS THE FIRST, THIRTY-FIRST POPE. [A. D. 308. — Maxentius, Emperor.] Election of Marcellus — He excites seditions in Rome — He is made an ostler, by order of Maxerif tins — His death. After a vacancy of three years, the clergy and faithful of Rome placed themselves under the guidance of a holy man named Marcellus, a Roman by birth. This new bishop wished to avail himself of the calm which religion enjoyed, at the commencement of his pontificate, to ordain rules, and re-establish in the church the dis- cipline which the troubles had altered. But his severity rendered him odious to the people, and caused divisions amoni; the faithful. Dis- cord degenerated into sedition, and the quar- rel terminated in murder. Maxentius, seeing that the Christians were troubling the peace of Rome, laid the cause of the disorders on the pope Marcellus, and condemned him to groom post-horses in a sta- ble, on the hi^h road. The holy father perform- ed the duties of groom for nine months. Then the priests, having carried him ofi" during the nisht, he was taken to the house of a Roman lady named Lucilla. The faithful assembled inarms to defend the pontiff; but the empe- ror marched his troops against the rebels, and dispersed them ; and by his orders the house of Lucilla wasconverted intoa stable, where Mar- cellus again performed the duties of a irroom. The holy bishop, worn down by the fatigues of this wretched state, died after two years of pontificate, in the first month of the year 310. 54 HISTORY OF THE POPES. EUSEBIUS, THE THIRTY-SECOND POPE. [A. D. 310. — Maxentius, Emperor.] Election of Eusebius — His exile — Ridiculous story of the cross of Christ, found by the mother of Constantine. In spite of the divisions which then reigned in the church of Rome, the clergy and the people had still a deliberative voice in the elections. They chose unanimously Eusebius. a Greek by birth, and the son of a physician. The tyrant Maxentius banished the new pon- tiff into Sicily, where he died some months after, in the same year as that in which he was elected, viz. 310. The priests affirm that, during the pontifi- cate of Eusebius, Helena, mother of Constan- tine, caused excavations to be made at Jerusa- lem ; and that this princess found the cross on which the Saviour of the world had suffered. But all serious historians have refuted this ridiculous story. The acts of the martyrs, during the first years of the fourth century, are filled with miraculous legends of confessors and saints who suffered martyrdom ; but the uniformity of the narrations deserves attention. There is always a Christian resisting the most fright- ful punishments, and finishing, by being be- headed, or thrown to wild beasts. Then the pagans always wish to annihilate the body, and the faithful, always, through the particu- lar intervention of God, carry it ofi', vniharmed by fire or water, in order to make relics of it. MELCHIADES, THE THIRTY-THIRD POPE. [A. D. 310. — Maxentius and Constantine, Emperors.] Election of Melchiades — Debaucheries of Maxentius — Hypocrisy of Constantine — Liberty of worship — Schism of the Donatists — Condemnation of Donatus — The pope is accused of having surrendered the holy books to pagans, and of having sacrificed to idols. The popes were the first to put in use these execrable means, which they employed in the succeeding ages, with audacious tyranny. Constantine, and Licinius his colleague, ap- proached Rome. Maxentius, despairing of conquering them by force, notwithstanding his numerous forces, employed stratagem; but he fell himself into the snare which he had laid, and was drowned in the Tiber. After the death of the tyrant, Constantine entered the city in triumph, and the Christians cele- brated, by public rejoicings, the victory which he came to gain. In order to augTuent his power, this prince feigned to be zealously occupied about the v/ants and interest of the church, and mixed himself up in all the religious quarrels. The Donatists then commenced their famous dis- pute, the origin of which is very curious. A priest named Cecilian, had been chosen bishop of Carthage, by the faithful ; but a party com- posed of deacons, who had received in deposit the vesels of this church during the persecu- tion, opposed his ordination. These unMorlhy priests, hoping to divide among themselves these rich spoils, raised altar against altar. Botrus and Calensius. enraged at not having been chosen to fill the see, joined them, and drew into their party a lady of illustrious birth, named Lucilla. Women always give a great impulse to all the plots which are formed, in church or state. Lucilla was rich, beauti- ful— surrounded by luunerous friends. For a We enter now upon a vast career, less ob- scure than that of the preceding ages. His- tory will lighten up, with her sublime torch, the enormous crimes and scandalous de- baucheries which we shall find on the throne of the emperors, or the chair of the popes. Melchiades, the new pontiff, was an Afri- can. During his reign, the church commenced enjoying a little tranquillity. Maxentius only persecuted religion at intervals ; and then only to gratify his ill-regulated passions. Thus, he carried off Christian girls and women, whom he made subservient to his infamous plea- sures. The conduct of the tyrant excited the indignation of the faithful, and Melchiades wrote to Constantine, who had advanced to Treves, to come and combat Maxentius. Constantine had been providing, for a long time, the means to mount the throne, and his policy rendered him favourable to Chris- tianity. He yielded to the entreaties of Mel- chiades, and his aiTny marched on Milan. His first act of power was to make an edict in favour of the Christian religion ; but at the same time, he left to the pagans the free ex- ercise of their ceremonies: "Because," said he, '-I have learned that religion should be free ; and that each one should be left to wor- ship God as he judges proper." At this time, those who professed Catholicism, were still ignorant that we are permitted to force men to worship God, contrary to their convictions. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 55 long time her conduct had brought scandal upon the church. This woman was anxiously desirous to be avenged on Cecilian, who had reproved her, in a full assembly, tor her levity and vices. The three parties, united, formed a power- ful faction, which declared against Cecilian, and refused to communicate with him. Seventy bishops seconded their culpable designs. Having assembled in council at Carthage, they condemned Cecilian, because he had refused to appear before them, to jus- tify himself ; because he had been ordained by traitors : and lastly, because he had hin- dered the faithful from taking provisions to the martyrs, who were imprisoned during the last persecution. After this decision, the fathers, regarding the see of Carthage as vacant, proceeded to a new election ; and ordained a man named Majorin, a domestic of Lucilla, and who had been a reader in the deaconate of Cecilian. Such was the origin of the schism of the Donatists in Africa. They derive their name from Donatus, of Casoe Nigrse, and from an- other, Donatus, still more renowned, who succeeded Majorin in the tille of bishop of Carthage. The Donatists carried their complaints be- fore the emperor, and besought him to drive Cecilian from Carthage ; but the prince, wish- ing to render an equitable decision, ordered the bishop, and his adversaries, to appear be- fore a council for judgment. Cecilian went to Home, with ten bishops of his party; Donatus, with an equal number of prelates. The synod assembled in the pa- lace of the empress Fausta, called the house of the Lateran. The fathers declared Ceci- lian innocent^and approved of his ordination. Donatus was alone condemned, as the author of all the scandal of this accusation, and was convicted of great crimes, by his own confes- sion. The other bishops were confirmed in their dignities, and permitted to return to their sees, though they had been ordained by the schismatic Majorin. The pope and the other bishops rendered an account to Constantine, of the judgment which the council of Rome had pronounced upon the aliair of the Donatists, by sending him a copy of the record of their proceedings. Melchiades died three months after, in the course of the year 314. In spite of the condemnation which they had encountered, the Donatists persevered in their schism. They had the boldness to com- plain of the council of Rome, affirming that the judges had been corrupted by Cecilian ; and even in the time of St. Augustine, under the emperor Honorius, they accused pope Melchiades of having delivered up the sacred books to the pagans, and of having offered incense to idols. SYLVESTER, THE THIRTY-FOURTH POPE. [A. D. 314. — Constantine, Emperor.] Birth of Sylvester — Council of Ancyra — Council of Neocesarea — Celibacy of the priests— Dis' orders in convents — Heresy of Arius — He is exiled — Sect of the Vdesians — The priests desire to imitate them — A holy bishop opposes the law of celibacy — His opinion adopted by the council — Knavery of the priests, in relation to the true cross — Pope Sylvester is accused of having abjured the Christian religion, by sacrificing to idols — His death. SvLVKSTER, a Roman by birth, was the son of Rnliiuis and Justa, a woman of great piety. On his arrival at the pontificate, the church was occupied by no afl'airof more importance in the West, and in Africa, than that of the Donatists. The holy father obtained from the emperor permission to hold a new council in the city of Aries, and th(! heretics were ana- thematised, and driven from the communion of the faithful. At the same period, a council was held at Ancyra, which has become famous for its canons. The tenth nms thus : " If deacons, at the ordination, have made protestation that tliey intend to marry, they shall remain in the ministry, by the permi.-^sion of the bishop. But, if they have not made any protestation before their ordination, and ihey contract a second marriage, they shall be driven from the ministry."' This confirms us in the opin- ion, that the celibacy of the priesthood was unknown ia the apostles' times, and for a long ' period after. Still, it is impossible to deter- mine from what period it was that ecclesias- tics have preferred '• to burn than to marry." Historians show that, during the third century, priests, being more exposed to the fury of the persecutions than the lait}', with difficulty found wives, and were accustomed to live in a state of celibacy. The council of Neoc(rsarea took place some months afterwards, and a part of the same bishops assisted at the new assembly. The fathers enacted many reirulations for ecclesi- astical discipline. In the first canon, they pro- hibited priests from marrying under pain of being depo.sed. In the eighth, they permit those already married, to continue to live with their wives, and to leave them only on con- viction of adultery. This usage still prevails in the Grecian church. The famous Cornelius Asrippa blamed se- verely the law, which compelled ecclesiastics to deprive themselves of wives. He accused 56 HISTORY OF THE POPES. the bishops, opposed to the marriage of priests, of permitting concubinage, in order that they might draw from it large revenues. He adds, that a certain bishop boasted that he had in his diocese, eleven thousand priests, living in a state of concubinage, who paid him a crown of gold yearly, to tolerate their mistresses. This motive alone, had induced him to oppose the marriage of priests. In the sjiiod, the fathers observed that mar- riage drew after it terrestrial and sensual oc- cupations, which turned away ministers from the duty which the priesthood imposed on them. Unfortunately, the promoters of this jurisprudence had not studied human nature sufficiently, when they passed the law of ce- libacy. With more indulgence for human passions, they would have prevented the scan- dalous debaucheries of the priests, and the disorders of the convents. During the reign of Constantine. the church entered upon a state of grandeur and pros- perity, which was soon troubled by Arius, chief of a sect, who was born in Lybia. Eu- sebius, bishop of Nicomedia, took the new he- resy under his protection^ and contributed powerfully to its propagation. This prelate, adroit and skilful, had drawn to his party Constantia, sister to the emperor, whose good opinion he had obtained ; and by her aid, it made rapid progress. Daring bishops listened favourably to the new schism, and terrible disputes and bloody combats took place. Then the emperor Constantine, in order to put a stop to the disorders, assembled the first general council at Nice, which condemned the doctrine of the Arians. Arius taught a Trinity, in which God, the father, was elevated above other persons. He regarded Christ as the first of created beings, and affirmed that God had adopted him for his son ] but; that the son did not partake of the paternal consubstance ] nor was he equal to the father — nor consubstantial with him • nor eternal, nor co-eternal. That the son was not, until he was made ; that he had been created out of nothing, as all the other beings of creation ; and that he was not the true God, but made one by participation. Some authors maintain, that the obscurity of the matter, aided much in the establish- ment of the heresy. They add that, at the last, Arius, having abjured his sentiments, in the presence of a council, remained at peace with the church. Others maintain, with more truth, that he was exiled, and cite a decree of Constantine, which ordered his writings to be burned, and threatened with death those who should have the boldness to preserve them — a singular decree, which condemned to ban- ishment Arius and his disciples, and ordained penalty of death against those who preserved the heretical works. The great question, in relation to the cele- bration of Easter, was also agitated, and de- cided by the council of Nice. The fathers determined to celebrate the same day, through- out all the church; and the Orientals engaged to conform to the practice of Rome, of Egypt, and the West. They then made a canon in relation to eunuchs. They permitted those who had been mutilated by surgeons, or bar- barians, to remain in the ranks of the clergy, and pronounced an interdict against those who had operated on themselves. The judg- ment of the fathers teaches us, that a badly understood zeal for purity, had led many priests to imitate Origen. The sect of the Va- lesians was distinguished for this cruel prac- tice. They were all eunuchs, and prohibited their disciples from eating the flesh of animals until they had themselves undergone the same operation. Then they guve them every liberty, regarding them as safe against temptations. An ecclesiastical writer, of a later age, urges the bishops of our communion, who have made vow of living in a state of celibacy, to make a law, V hich should constrain monks and ab- bots to follow the example of the Valesians. This cruel precaution would arrest the disor- ders of the clergy. But we fear that marriages would not be as fruitful as they are now, if all the priests were eunuchs. " The grand council pushed its severity so far, as to prohibit bishops, priests, or clerks, from keeping in their houses women, sub- introduced, but a mother, sister, aunt, or other person, who could not excite suspicion." They denominated sub-introduced, those who dwelt with the ecclesiastics as nieces, cousins, or young and handsome serving-women. The council of Eliberis had already made the same decree. At Nice, a law still more severe was proposed. It prohibited those who were in sacred orders — that is, bishops, priests, or dea- cons— from living with the women whom they had espoused when laymen. But the confessor Paphnuces, a bishop in the upper Thebais, rose and said, with a loud voice, " My brethren, we would not impose a yoke so heavy upon priests and clerks. Marriage is honourable, and the bed undefiled. Too great severity would be injurious to the church ; for all men are not capable of so perfect a continence. It should be sufficient, to prohibit priests from marrying, without forcing them to surrender the wives they had espoused, before entering into holy orders." The opinion of Paphnuces had greater weight with the council, from the fact, that the holy confessor, having never married, had preserved great continence in the Episcopal see. His opinion was adopted. The question of marriage was abandoned, and the priests were left entirely at liberty. The council, having closed its sittings, the emperor Constantine wrote two letters, in order to enforce its decrees. Those who re- fused to submit to the decisions of the fathers, were pursued by the secular authority, which was more fearful than the canons of a coun- cil. The cares of the prince were not con- fined to the persecution of heretics. Constan- tine was engaged in extending the Christian religion into all parts of his dominions. He even wished to erect a splendid church on the very spot where Jesus Christ had been buried; and Helen, his mother, undertook a journey to the East, during the pontificate of Eusebius, HISTORY OF THE POPES. 57 in order to build at Jerusalem the church of tlie Holy Sepulchre. Legends affirm, that in digging the earth to lay the foundation of the temple, they found the cross of the Saviour. The princess sent a portion of this precious relic to her son, but left the trunk of the cross at Jerusalem. Since that period, the wood of the true cross has so multiplied itself, that if we could collect all the pieces which are ex- posed for the veneration of the peojjle, they would make fue wood enough to warm all the inhabitants of Paris during the most severe winter ; for there scarcely exists a church, which does not boast of being enriched with these precious relics. All that we have related, belongs rather to ecclesiastical history than to the life of pope Sylvester. The actions of this pontiff remain in oblivion ; and the legends transmitted by the monks, since the lilth century, are less adapted to put us in possession of the truth, than to convince us that the history of a man so celebrated has been corrupted nearly up to its very source. We would not adopt the fictions of authors, who represent Sylvester as the catechist of Constantine and pretend that this prmce was cured of a leprosy, and bap- tized by the pontiff. They add, that the em- peror, in gratitude, made nim a donation of the city of Rome, and ordered all the bishops of the world to be submissive to the pontifical see. They affirm that the council of Nice assembled by the orders of Sylvester; and that he first granted the right of asylum to clmrches. Romuala, and some undiscerning compilers^ give us all these ridiculous fables as facts, of which celebrated historians have proved the falsity. In the council of Rome, held in 378, under pope Damasus, the fathers wrote to the em- peror Gratian that Sylvester, having been ac- cused by sacrilegious men, had pleaded his cause before Constantine, because there was no council before which he could appear. They adduce this example to show that Damasus and the popes, his successors, could defend themselves before the emperors — a new proof that, in the first ages of the church, the pon- tifi's regarded themselves as secondary to the secular authority. We will also remark, that the comicil of Nice granted to the bishop of Alexandria the same privileges as to the pastor of Rome. The au- thority of the pope was then enclosed within the bounds of his diocese ; he had no juris- diction nor power over the other bishops ; on the contrary, he was compelled to submit to the decrees of councils, and the judgment of his colleagues. In all the persecutions which St. Athanasius underwent from the Arians, the bishop of Rome was never consulted ; nor did they submit to his decision the articles of faith which caused the disorders in the East, be- cause he was only regarded as any other me- tropolitan bishopp to whom was due primacy in the rank of his see. The liberality of the emperor Constantine produced great evils in the church, as the legend of Sylvester teaches us. It affirms, that on the day of the pretended donation of Con- stantine, a voice was heard from heaven, ex- clauning, " To day is poison spread through the church." The Donatists, who persevered in their schism, tarnished the memory of Sylvester. They accused him of having dishonoured the priesthood during the reign of pope Marcellinus, in delivering up the Holy Scriptures to pagans, and in offering incense to idols. Their accu- sations were supported by terrible and irrefra- gable proofs. Sylvester died on the last day of the year 335, after a pontificate of twenty-one years. His body was interred in the cemetery of Priscilla, a short league from the city of Rome. MARK, THE THIRTY-FIFTH POPE. [A. D. 336. — Constantine, Emperor.] Election of Mark — Obscurity of his history — Supposed writings — Refutation by the Protestants. According to the most e.xact chronology, Mark, a Roman by birth, and the son of Pris- cus, was chosen on the 18th of January, in the year 336, to govern the church. His pon- tificate lasted eight months, and we are igno- rant of any of his actions. In the works of St. Athanasius is found a letter from the bishops of Egypt to pope Mark, in which they ask of him copies of the pro- ceedings of the council of Nice — but the Pro- testants regard it as supposititious. The learn- ed of our own communion deny the authen- ticitv of this letter, and of the pretended reply Vol. I. H of the pope, in which he takes the proud title of universal bishop. The holy father died on the 7th of October, 336, and was interred in the cemetery of Cal listus. During the pontificate of Mark, and undei the reign of his successors, the new capital of the empire, built upon the site of ancient Byzantium, continued to make considerable progress. According to the historian Sozo- meiies, its circumference was already fifteen stadii. The interior of the city was divided, Uke ancient Rome, into fourteen quarters : the 58 HISTORY OF THE POPES. public squares were surrounded by covered gulleries ; the principal streets came together at a magnificent forum, in which was raised a column of porphyry, supporting a statue of Constantine. The emperor inhabited a splendid palace, in advance of which he had con- structed an immense circus • an hippodrome for horse-racing ] a course for foot races ; and an amphitheatre for the combats of wild beasts. Constantine built besides several theatres, porticoes or galleries for promenades, baths, aqueducts, and a great number of foun- tains. This prince also constructed a building, in which polite literature and the sciences were taught ] a palace of justice ; and public granaries, for the distribution of grain to the citizens who built the city, and to whom Con- stantine had allowed a perpetual rent, payable to them and their families, in grain. The capital was also enriched, at the expense of other cities, with the most beautiful statuary of Greece. The Pythian Appollo, the Smin- thian. and the Tripod of Delphos, decorated the Hipprodrome. The Muses of Helicon, and the celebrated statue of Rhea, from Mount Didymos, were placed in the imperial palace. But that which most particularly characterized this reign, was the great number of Christian churches which were built at Constantinople. The cathedral called St. Sophia, and the church of the Twelve Apostles, built in the form af a cross, attracted admiration from the splendour of their architecture. The prince, destining this last for his burial place, had built a tomb of rich marble in the midst of the twelve sepulchres of the apostles, "hoping," says Eusebius, of Cajsarea, " to participate, after his death, in the glory of these princes of the church." JULIUS THE FIRST, THIRTY-SIXTH POPE. [A. D. 337. — Constantine, Constantius and his Brothers, Emperors.] Election of Julius — Baptism of Constantine before his death — He is canonized in the Greek church — St. Athanasius is accused of several crimes — Council of Antioch — The pope is mal- treated by the bishops of the East— Deplorable state of the church— Death of the pope— His infallibility in danger. The Holy See remained vacant several months, when Julius, a Roman by birth, vv^as chosen to occupy it. Soon after the elevation of the holy father, Constantine retired to By- zantium, to escape from the execration of the senate, the Roman people, and even the Chris- tians, whom he had overwhelmed with bene- fits. Baptism, which he had deferred to the last period of his life, was then administered to him, and he embraced Christianity — not from conviction, but from policy. Scaliger says, in speaking of this prince, " He was as much a Christian as I am a Tartar." The his- torian Zozimus also accuses him of having been converted to the new religion, because the priests of paganism refused him expiation for the enormous crimes which he had com- mitted, whilst the Christian religion offered liim full and entire absolution. The Grecian priests have, nevertheless, placed this monster in their menology, and honour him as a saint. He died soon after his baptism, and left by his will his empire to his three sons and two nephews. The followers of Arius increased daily; they seduced Constantius, who had obtained, in the division of the empire, Asia, the East, and Egyqit. But the emperor Constantine the Younger, who reigned in Spain, Gaul, and all the country beyond the Alps, protected the orthodox. St. Athanasius was re-established in his church at Alexandria, where he was again exposed to the calumnies of his ene- miesj who accused him of having committed murders, and excited violent seditions in his diocese. In order to put a stop to the scandal, the patriarch Eusebius assembled, in the city of Antioch, a council, composed of eighty-seven bishops, in order to judge Athanasius. No bishops from Italy or the West presented themselves in the name of Julius; and the council, presided over by Eusebius, was again desirous of driving St. Athanasius from his see. They decided the different articles of faith in favour of the Arians, and composed twenty-five canons of discipline, which have since been received by the whole church. The second canon is particularly remarkable. The fathers condemned those who entered the churches in a spirit of disobedience or sin- gularity, and refuse to join in prayer and the communion. They ordered that they should be driven from the church. This demon- strates that, in the first ages of Christianity, the faithful, taking part in Christian assem- blies, were accustomed to participate in the mysteries of the eucharist. The partizans of Eusebius addressed to Rome letters, filled with complaints of the in- timacy which the holy father maintained with Athanasius, and of his pretensions to re- establish in their sees the bishops deposed by the councils. They sent these letters by the deacons Elpidius and Philoxenes, whom the pope had sent to Antioch, ordering them to bring back, as soon as possible, the reply of the pontiff. Julius immediately assembled HISTORY OF THE POPES. 59 a new council, to judge the cause of Athana- sius, and wrote to the emperor Coustans, to apprise him of the treatment which this pre- late, and Paul of Constantinople, had sutfered. The prince wrote to Constantius, his brother, beseeching him to send three bishops, to ren- der an account of the deposition of Paul and Athanasius. The embassadors went to Gaul, in obedience to the emperor's orders; but the bishop of Treves was unwilling to receive them to his communion ; and they, on their side, refused to enter into a conference with the bishop of Alexandria, pretending that they did not justify the judgment of the Ori- entals, and contented themselves with placing in the hands of Constans the new profession of faith which had been composed smce the council. The church was then in frightful disorder. Bishops and fathers launched at each other terrible anathemas. The assembly at Sardes pronounced a condemnation against the ene- mies of Athanasius, and eight of the principal chiefs of the faction were deposed and ex- communicated. The Eusebians, on their side, contirmed the proceedings against Athanasius and his adherents. They deposed Julius, bishop of Rome, for having admitted them to his communion; and Osius, of Cordova, for having formed an intimate friendship with Paulinus and Eustathes, bishops of Antioch. I They excommunicated Maximin, bishop of Treves, and deposed Protogenes, bishop of Sar- des— the one because he favoured JVlarcel, who had incurred a condemnation — the other because he had sustained the deposed priests. The churches of the East and West were thus divided, and did not communicate for several years. At length Gregory the usurper of the see of Alexandria, being dead, the emperor recalled St. Athanasius, and re-estab- lished him at the head of his flock. t Other new heresies broke out, during the pontificate of Julius: but history does not teach us whether the holy father protected or combatted them. He died on the r2th of April, in the year 352. after having governed the church of Rome during fifteen years, and was interred on the Aurelian Way, in the ce- metery of Callipodus. Julius, before his death, had allowed him- self to be deceived by the hypocrisy of Ursaces and Valerus, who had simulated a reconciliation with Athanasius, in order to labour the more ethcaciously for his downfall; and the Holy Spirit, according to the promise of the evangelist, did not discover to the pon- tiff the artifices of these bishops, whom he received to his communion. Gratian and Yvon have preserved several decrees of Julius, in which the holy father condenms usury. LIBERIUS, THE THIRTY-SEVENTH POPE. [A. D. 352. — Constans, Julian, Jovian, Valentinian, and Valens, Emperors.] Election of Liberiits — He cites St. Athanasius before his tribunal — He excommunicates him, and is then reconciled to him — Council of Aries — Disgraceful fall of the pope — The extraordinary affection of the Roman ladies for him — Liberius excommunicates St. Athanasius a second time — The pope becomes a heretic, and draws .several bishops with htm, into the doctrines of Amis — ■ He changes his sciitiments through policy — He returns to Arianism, and dies a heretic — 21ie priests have made a saint of him. Aftek a vacancy, of which the precise du- ration is unknown, Marcellinus Felix Liberius was chosen to govern the church of Rome, in the room of Julius the First. He was a Ro- man by birth. As soon as the Orientals were advised that Liberius occupied the pontifical see, they wrote to him against Athanasius. The pope eagerly seized upon the opportunity afforded him of augmenting the influence of his see. He sent Paul, Lucius, and Emilius, to St. Athanasius, citing him to appear at Rome, to reply to the accusations against him ; but Athanasius, doubting the issue of a judg- ment, whose preparation announced the tri- umph ot his enemies, refused to appear. Then Liberius condemned the holy bishop, and launched against him the most terrible ana- themas. The bishops of Egypt assembled immedi- ately in a synod, declared their metropolitan orthodox, and sent back to the pontiff the ex- coiumuuicatioa luiuiched against him. Liberius discovered that his ambition had led him into a dangerous path: and in order to lead back the bishops who had repulsed hia pretensions, he addressed to St. Athanasius, his early friend, a letter full of friendship and respect. j He then assembled a synod of the bishops [ of Italy, and read in their presence the letter of the Orientals agahist Athanasius, and that of the bishops of Egypt in his favour. The council, comprising more of the partisans of St. Athanasius than his enemies, decided that it was contrary to the law of God, to favour the views of the Orientals, and advised the pope to send to the emperor Constans. Vin- cent, bishop of Capua, and several father.s, to beseech him to assemble a council at Aquileia, I to put an end to these differences. The new council was convoked in the city of Aries, whither the emperor went, after the defeat and tragical death of the usurper 1 Magnentius. The deputies of the pope, Vui- 60 HISTORY OF THE POPES. cent of Capua, and Marcel, bishop of another city of Campania, not sharing with him in the privilege of infallibility, had the baseness to urge earnestly that the fathers should pro- nounce condemnation of the heresy of Arius, themselves engaging, on this condition, to subscribe to the condemnation of Athanasius. The Orientals refused to condemn the doc- trines of Arius, and maintained that they ought themselves to excommunicate Athanasius. Vincent of Capua, was seduced by the gold of the heretics, and ranged himself on the side of the Arians. Liberius, afhicted by this weakness, wrote to the celebrated Osius of Cordova, to express to him his grief, and pro- tested that he would rather die in defence of the truth, than become the accuser of St. Atha- nasius. But he did not persevere long in this generous resolution ; and his disgraceful fall spread scandal and desolation through the church. The conduct of Vincent greatly em- barrassed the pope, in regard to the condem- nation of the Arians, a constant aim of the Holy See. The pontiff, before entering on a path which might prove dangerous, deter- mined to take the advice of I^ucifer, bishop of Cagiiari. This prelate despised the world, a virtue very rare in i^ersons of his rank. He was well informed, an extraordinary thing among bishops. His life was pure, and he was not wanting in firmness. Besides, he was well informed in religious controversies, and did not believe that the Orientals designed to at- tack the faith. His advice was. that the holy father should send deputies to the emj)eror to obtain permission to treat of all the articles of the faith in a general council, offering him- self as one of the embassadors. Liberius accepted thankfully this proposal ; then Lucifer, a priest called Panacrus, and the deacon Hilarius, were charged to hand to the emperor a respectful but firm letter. Con- stantius, solicited by the Catholics and the Arians, agreed to the wishes of the two par- ties, and by his orders a general council as- sembled at Milan. St. Athanasius was there condemned, on the accusations of his enemies; which decree the prince sustained with all his authority, and the orthodox prelates who refused to submit to the will of the emperor, were exiled to Chalcedon. Constantius, irritated in seeing that his pa- cific dispositions, so far from appeasing the fury of the orthodox, only augmented the more their pride, and that his states continued to be troubled by religious quarrels, which the obstinacy of the pope excited, wrote to Leon- tius, governor of Rome, to take Liberius by artifice, and send him to his court ; or to em- ploy force, if necessary, to tear from his flock this priest of discord. Leontius arrested the pope during the night, and conducted him to the emperor, at Milan, who interrogated the holy father on the dis- putes of the church; but Liberius was intrac- table on all his propositions. The prince, in a transport of rage, exclaimed : '-Are you then, the fourth part of the Christian world, being willing alone to protect an impious man, and trouble the peace of the universe." The pope replied, " When I shall be alone, the cause of the faith will not be less good, and I will oppose your orders. Besides, three generous persons were found to resist the unjust commands of Nebuchadnezzar, and I will imitate those bold Israelites." Two days after this conference, on a formal refusal to subscribe to the condem- nation of Athanasius, he was exiled to Beiea, in Thrace ; and Constantius, whom the ultra Mon- tanes regard as a persecutor, sent him five hun- dred crowns of gold for his expenses. The Arians then elevated Felix to the pa- pal see ; but two years afterwards, Constan- tius, having come to Rome, many ladies, of illustrious birth, engaged their husbands to be- seech the emperor to restore the shepherd to his flock, threatening to go themselves to seek for their bishop. The senators, fearing to ex- cite the wrath of the emperor, did not dare to take so bold a step, and permitted their wives themselves to demand the pardon of Liberius. The Roman ladies presented themselves be- fore the emperor, clothed in their richest gar- ments, and covered with precious stones, in order tliat the prince, judging of their quality by their appearance, might have the more regard for them. Arrived at the foot of the throne, they pros- trated themselves before Constantius, and be- sought him to have pity on this great city, de- prived of its shepherd, and exposed to the in- cursions of the wolves. He permitted himself to bend. After having consulted with the bi- shops who accompanied him, he gave orders, that if Liberius entered into their views, he should be recalled, and should govern the church. Fortunatian, bishop of Aquileia, went after Liberius, to engage him to subscribe to the wishes of the emperor. The pontiff, wearied by exile, and desirous of returning to Rome, hastened to yield a full and entire adhesion to the third council of Sirmium, Avhich had published a profession of faith, favourable to Arianism. The letter, in which he expresses his acceptance of the entire heretical formula of the Arians, has been preserved. He then excommunicated St. Athanasius, the greatest defender of the church ; and this example of cowardice drew into the heresy a great noun- ber of bishops. After this shameful apostacy, Liberius wrote to the bishops of the East in these teims : "I defend neither Athanasius nor his doc- trine. I received him to my communion in imitation of Julius, my predecessor, of happy memory ; and in order not to deserve to be called a prevaricator. But, it has pleased God to cause me to know that you have justly con- demned him, and I have given my consent to his excommunication. Our brother Fortuna- tian is charged with the letters of submission which I have written to the emperor. I de- clare my intention to repel Athanasius from our communion ; nor do I even wish to receive letters from him; desiring to have peace and union with you, and with the bishops of all the Eastern provinces. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 61 '■ To the end that j'ou may know clearly the sincerity with which I speak to you, our brother DemophiluS; having desired to pro- pose to my acceptance the true and catholic I'aith which many of our brethren, the bishops, have examined at Sirmium, I have received it entire, without curtailing a single article. I beseech you then, since you see me agreed with you in all things, to address your prayers to the emperor, that I may be recalled from my exile, and be restored to the see which God has confided to me." That was the aim of the pontiff's desires. As soon as St. Hilarius was apprised that the pope was become an Arian, he launched against him three terrible anathemas, calling him apostate, and prevaricator from the faith. Indeed, it was dililcult. after a fault so dis- graceful, to apologize for the holy father. The priests even avow that Liberius was an heretical pope : that he had abjured the Catho- lic faith in openly proclaiming himself an Ari- an ; and that the infallibility of the Holy See is gravely compromised by his apostacy, and his adhesion to the heretical council of Sirmium. The abjuration of the pontiff having been accepted, Liberius returned to Rome, where he was received with great honours. His friends pushed on the people to new seditions, and drove Felix from the city. The holy father then sustained the new doctrines which he had embraced, and caused the Arians to tri- umph. But he soon perceived that he could not long maintain himself on the see of Rome if he did not change his policy. Then the Arian council of Rimini, having demanded his approval, he refused to sign the formulary, and concealed himself until the death of the emperor Constantius. Three years afterwards, the demi-Arians, persecuted by Eudoxius and the pure Arians, held a synod, and agreed to submit their doc- trines to the judgment of the bishop of Rome. The pope made a difficulty about receiving them, regarding them as Arians who had abolished the faith of Nice ; but when they consented to recognize the consubstantiality of the word, he gave them a letter of com- munion, in which he bears witness, that he receives with great joy, the proofs of the purity of their faith, and of their union with all the Western churches. The pope did not long survive this re-union of the demi-Arians ; he died on the 24th of September, 366, after having governed the church of Rome for fourteen years and some months. His apostacy has not prevented the very illustrious bishops St. Epiphanus, St. Ba- sil, and St. Ambrose from eulogizing him highly. The Roman Martyrology has even inscribed his name among the saints whom the church honours. But through an excess of prudence, on the part of cardinal Baronius, it has of late years been suppress(!d. During the reign of pope Liberius, died, aged one hundred and five years, the great St. Anthony, who is regarded as the founder of the religious orders of the East. The visions of tliis monk, rather than his piety, rendered him celebrated among the anchorites of his age, and g^ave him an immense reputation for holiness, which extended even to the ex- tremity of Gaul. Although he could neither read nor write, St. Anthony has left many works, which he dictated, in the Eg}T)tian language, to his disciples; among others, seven letters, filled with the true apostolic spirit, which were translated first into Greek, and then into Latin. In the midst of the ex- travagant and incoherent recitals of his ec- stacies, and his temptations, we have been struck with the singular revelation which he had a few days before his death, and which has been transmitted to us by one of his disciples. " The holy man was seated," thus speaks the legendary, '-when the divine Spirit descended upon him. Then he entered into an ecstacy; his eyes raised to heaven, and his attention fixed. He remained for five hours in complete immobility, groaning from time to time ; at length he fell upon his knees. We all, seized with dread, besought him to tell us the subject of his tears. ' Oh, my child- ren, replied he, the wrath of God will fall upon the church ; we will be delivered over to men like to unclean beasts ; for I have seen the holy table surrounded by mules and asses which overturned the altars of Christ by rude kicks, and which defiled the sacred body of the Saviour ! I heard a voice cry out. Thus my altar shall be profaned, by abominable ministers, who shall call themselves the suc- cessors of the apostles.' " FELIX THE SECOND, THIRTY-EIGHTH POPE— OR ANTI-POPE. [A. D. 366.] Election of Felix — He is ordained pontiff, in the presence of the eunuchs of the emperor — Two popes at Rome — Felix is exiled — His death — He is regarded as a saint — Trickery of the priests. Opinions are divided on the subject of Fe- lix, as to whether he merits the name of pope, or that of anti-pope and schismatic. Authors, the contrary, that he was legitimately chosen bishop of Rome, and has decreed to him the honours of martyrdom. This authority,j\vith- respectable for their knowledge, speak of him j out convincing us of the holiness of Felix, with contempt. The church maintains, on ' compels U3, at least, not to neglect his history. 62 HISTORY OF THE POPES. A Roman by birth, and the son of Anasta- sius, he was still a deacon when the pope Li- berius was sent into exile. The Arians wished to place another bishop over the see of Rome ; but the clergy having sworn that they would not receive any other whilst Liberius was living, it was necessary to use address to ren- der this oath useless. The emperor Constan- tius employed Epictetus, a young neophyte, bold and violent, whom he had created bi- shop of Centumcella, now Civita Vecchia, S'tuated upon the Tuscan p-ulf. It was from the hands of this prelate that Felix received episcopal ordination. If we can believe St. Athanasius, the sacred ceremony took place in the imperial palace, although it should have happened in the church. Three eu- nuchs represented the faithful people of Rome, and three bishops laid their hands on Fehx. Authors have different opinions as to his conduct, and his orthodoxy. Some say he was an Arian ; others maintain that he pre- served the Nicean creed, and that he did not hold intercourse with heretics, except upon matters foreign to religion ; but all agree that his elevation displeased the friends of Libe- rius, who were very numerous ; and when the Roman ladies had obtained the recall of this latter, the empeior ordered that he should govern the church in connection with Felix. Then the prelates, assembled in council at Sirraium, wrote to the clergy of Rome to re- ceive Liberius, who had sworn to forget the past, and live in peace with Felix. But one had tasted the joys of episcopal grandeur, the other was ambitious ; both had partizans, who excited in Rome violent quarrels and bloody combats. At length, the legitimate chief tri- umphed over his competitor, drove him from the city, and reduced him to the state of a bishop, without a church. Felix, whose faction was not destroyed, re- turned soon after to the city, daring to call the people together, in a church beyond the Tiber ; but the nobility forced him to quit Rome a second tirhe. The prince, who was always desirous of maintaining a good standing with Liberius, was then obliged to give him up; and Felix, having lost his protector, retired to a small estate w-hich he owned, where ha lived nearly eight years. The faithful now honour him as a holy martyr, driven from his see by the Arian, Constantius, in consequence of his defence of the Catholic faith. The pontificate of Da- masus adds, that he was massacred at Ceri, in Tuscany, by the orders of the emperor, whom he had excommunicated. Neverthe- less, it has been proved, that the title of saint was given him by Gregory the Great, and that he was on the point of losing it under Gregory the Thirteenth, by an incident, of which the cardinal Baronius has transmitted to us the relation. He relates, that in the year 1382, whilst they were labouring, by order of the pope, on the reformation of the Roman Mar- tyrology. they were deliberating if they should give to Felix the title of martyr, or strike him from the catalogue of saints. Baronius com- posed a long dissertation, in order to show that Felix was neither saint nor martyr. He was applauded by all judicious men, and the fathers affirmed that he had been inserted by accident, into the sacred catalogue. The car- dinal Santorius, undertook the defence of Fe- lix, but met with no success. This religious discussion led several priests to dig secretly under the altar of the church of St. Comus, and St. Damian, where they discovered a great marble sepulchre, m which were enclosed, on one side, the relics of the holy martyrs, Mark, Marcellinus, and Tranquillin: and on the other, a coffin, with this inscription : '■• The body of St. Felix, pope and martyr, who condemned Constantius." This discovery, having been made on the evening cf his fete, when he was on the point of losing his cause, and falling from heaven, they attributed to a miracle, that, which can safely be called, a monkish trick. Baronius regarded himself as blessed in finding him- self defeated by a saint, and retracted at once, all that he had written. The name of Felix was then re-established in the Martyrology, where his worship was confirmed. It is diffi- cult to reconcile this judgment with that of Athanasius, who regarded the new pontiff as a monster, whom the malice of anti-Christ had placed in the Holy See. DAMASUS, THE THIRTY-NINTH POPE. [A. D. 366. — Valentinian, Valens, Gratian and Theodosius, Emperors.] Birth of Damasus — He embraces the party of the anti-fope — Violerd sedition excited by the two fopes, DamasKs and Urban — Damasus victorious — He sets fire to a church — Luxury of the ishops of Rome — Debaucheries of the priests — Hypocrisy of the pope — Impostors make a saint of him — Frightful scandal, caused by the pope — He is accused of adultery — Law against the insatiable avarice of the clergy — The Arians persecute the ortJiodox — Deaih of St. Athana- sius— The Luciferians — The Donatists — Ambition of the popes — Heresy of the Priscillian- ists — Women embrace this neiv sect with enthusiasm — Debaucheries in their assemblies — Another accusation of adultery against pope Damasus — His death. Damasus was a Spaniard by birth, and the I lished himself at Rome as a scribe. The young son of a writer, named Anthony, who estab- 1 Damasus, having be^;n educated with great HISTORY OF THE POPES. 63 care, in the study of polite literature, entered into orders, and followed pope Liberius, when exiled to Berea, a city of Thrace. He re- turned afterwards to Rome, and abandoned his protector, to join the party of Felix. After the death of Liberius, the factions which divided the clergy, excited a violent sedition, in giving him a successor. Each party assembled separately. Damasus, who was sixty years old, was chosen and ordain- ed in the church of Lucina, whilst the deacon Ursin was proclaimed in another church. When it came to mounting the papal see, the two competitors sharply disputed the throne, and the people, taking part in the schism, a serious revolt ensued. Juventius, prefect of Rome, and Julian, prefect of pro- visions, exiled Ursin, as well as the deacons Amantius and Loup, the principal leaders. They then arrested seven seditious priests, whom they wished to banish from the city. But the party of Ursin rescued them from the hands of the ollicers, and conducted them in triumph to the church of Julius. The parti- zans of Damasus, armed with swords, and clubs, with the pontiff at their head, re-assem- bled, in order to drive them off. They be- sieged the church, and the gates being forced, they murdered women, children, old men, and the massacre was terminated by incen- diarism. The next day there were found, under the ruins, the dead bodies of one hun- dred and thirty-seven persons, who had been killed by arms or strangled in the flames. The prefect Juventius, not being able to quell the sedition, was forced to retire. The author who relates these facts, blames equally the fury of the two factions ; he adds : '• When I consider the splendour of Rome, I comprehend that those who desire the ofiice of bishoj) of that city, would use all their ef- forts to obtain it ; it procures for them great dignity, rich presents, and the favours of the ladies ; it gives them splendid ecjuipages, magnificent garments, and a table so choice, that it surpasses that of kings." Damasus was yet more sensual than his predecessors. He loved to enjoy the pleasures of a soft and voluptuous life. Pretextatus, who was then prefect of Rome, said to him in pleasantry: '-'If you desire me to become a Christian, make me bishop in your place." And truly, so rich a lord would not have been ambitions of the chair of St. Peter, if the con- duct of Damasus had been more apostolical. The luxury of the Latin church was odious to St. Jerome and St. Gregory, of Nazianzus, who indignantly complained of it. They called tht! Roman clergy, a senate of Pharisees, a troop of ignorant, seditious fellows, a band of conspirators ; they blamed, without conceal- ment, the prodigalities, the debaucheries, the rascalities of the priests, and condemned the elevation of Damasus to the Holy See, as hav- ing bi-en brousrht about by force and violence. As to the anti-pope Ursin, his consecration was still more irregular, having been done by a single prelate, Paul, bishop of Tibur, a gross and ignorant man. Nevertheless, the schis- matics continued to assemble in the cemete- ries of the martyrs, and preserved a church, where they held their assemblies, though they had neither priests nor clerks in the city. Damasus not being able to force them to submission, had recourse to the authority of the prince, to obtain an order to drive them from Rome. Joining then hjpocrisy to fanati- cism, he made a solemn procession, to beseech from God, the conversion of these obstinate schismatics. But, when he had received from the emperor authority to destroy his enemies, the pontiff, suddenly changing his tactics, as- sembled his partizans, and with his tiara on his head, and arms in his hands, he pene- trated into the church, and fell upon the here- tics, giving the signal for combat. The car- nage was long and bloody; the temple of the God of clemency and peace was soiled by violence and assassination. This terrible execution could not yet break down the faction of the followers of Ursui. Then the holy father, taking advantage of the anniversary of his birth, assembled several bishops, from whom he desired to force the condemnation of his competitor. These bi- shops, firm and just, replied, that they had assembled to rejoice with him, and not to con- demn a man unheard. Such was this pope, whom impostors dare to call " a very pious, and a very holy person." The accusation of adulter)-, which was af- terwards brought against the holy father, by Calixtus and Concordius. appears to be estab- lished upon the strongest proof. The synod which freed him from this accusation, did not change the convictions in relation to this fright- ful scandal ; for if the calumny of the charge had been established, the accusers would have been handed over to the secular arm, to be punished in accordance with the rigour of the Roman law ; and we know, on the con- trary, that they were sustained by the princi- pal magistrates. In order to understand the morals of the clergy, of this period, it is important that we should make mention of a law which was passed by the emperors Valentinian, Valens, and Gratian, towards the end of the year 370. It prohibited ecclesiastics and monks from entering the houses of widows, or of single women living alone, or who had lost their parents. In case of a breach of it, it permit- ted relatives or connections to summon the culjiable priest before the tribunals. It also prohibited ecclesiastics, under penalty of con- iiscation, from receiving, by donation or tes- tament, the property of their penitents, unless they were the legitimate heirs. This law was read every Sunday in all the churches of Rome. It is supposed that the pope himself had asked for its passage, in order to repress, by aid of the secular arm, the avarice of many priests, who seduced the Roman dames in order to enrich themselves with their spoils. The avarice of the ecclesiastics had led them to friLrhtful corruptions: they surpas.'^ed the most skilful in the art of extorting property, and their prudence was so marvellous, that no 64 HISTORY OF THE POPES. one dared bring them before the tribunals. St. Jerome openly condemned this law against the avarice of the priests, which fixed a mark of infamy on the clergy. Still it appeared to him just and necessary. " What a dis- grace," he exclaimed, "to see pagan ministers, jugglers, play actors, hackney coachmen, de- praved females, inherit, without obstacles, whilst the clergy and monks are alone prohibit- ed from acquiring inheritances. This prohibi- tion is made, not by pagan princes, nor by the persecutors of Christianity, but by Christian emperors ! I dare not complain of the law. for my soul is deeply afflicted in being obliged to confess that we have merited it. and that re- ligion, lost through the insatiable avarice of our priests, has forced our princes to apply a remedy so violent." The disorders of the clergy were not, how- ever, arrested by this law. The emperors weire constrained to make a new one, by Vi^hich widows were prohibited from parting with their jewels or rich furniture, under pre- tence of religion. They ordered that they should leave them to their children, and that no one, when dying, should name as his heir, the priests, the poor, or the churches. At Constantinople, the Arian sect, by turns persecuting or persecuted, still ruled, under the protection of the emperor Valens. It pur- sued the orthodox with bitterness, and using reprisals, inflicted on them all the evils it had undergone. St. Athanasius, Eusebius of Sa- mosata, Meleceus, and St. Basil, wrote to Da- masus touching letters, in regard to the wretch- ed state of affairs in the East. The pope made them no reply, being too much occupied at Rome to give any attention to the Chris- tians of the East ; or, rather, his great age began to weaken his ambition. Perchance, he also feared that the emperor Valens might sustain the interests of Ursin, his enemy, if he declared himself with too much warmth against the Arians ; besides, he did not love St. Basil, who had opposed Paulinus, the fa- vourite of the pope, and sustained Meleceus, his competitor for a bishop's see. Damasus sent back the letters by the same bearer, charging him to say to the bishops, that he ordered them to follow, word for word, the formulary which he prescribed. Basil, despising these airs of hauteur, broke off all intercourse with the pontiff, and exhibited, in several letters, his indignation against the Holy See. Egypt remained peaceful during the life of St. Athanasius, who exercised, for forty-six years, episcopal functions in the city of Alex- andria. As the bishop had entered on a very advanced age, the faithful besought him to designate his successor. He named Peter, a venerable man, esteemed by all for his great piety. On this occasion, the Roman pontiff wrote to the new prelate, letters of commu- nion and consolation, which he sent by a dea- con. The prefect of Alexandria, fearing that Damasus only sought the alliance of the bishop to excite anew the old religious quarrels, ar- ••ested his envoy, and caused them to bind his hands behind his back, ordering that he should be beaten by the executioners with stones, and thongs of leather, loaded with lead. After the punishment, the unhappy deacon, still covered with blood, was imme- diately put on shipboard, and sent to the cop- per mines of Pha'nicia. Peter, fearing for himself, escaped during this execution, and avoiding his persecutors, took refuge in a vessel, which carried him to Rome, Mhere he remained for five years in the tranquillity of a safe and honourable retreat. At Rome, the party of Ursin was reduced to the last extremities : but the Luciferians, other schismatics, held still criminal assem- blies, and the vigilance of Damasus could not hinder them from having a prelate. They had chosen Aurelius ) after his death Ephe- sius succeeded him, and maintained himself in the city, in defiance of the pursuit of the pope. The faction of the Donatists had also its bishop. They assembled beyond the walla of the city, in the caves of a mountain. These heretics received from their brethren in Africa, a pretended Roman patriarch, who, faithful, in spite of himself, to the precepts of the evangelists, had nothing but humility and poverty for his lot. After several years of expectation. Peter of Alexandria, who had been driven from his see, by the violence of the Arians, was called to assist at a council, convened by Damasus, at which he had the satisfaction to see Appo- linairus, and his disciple Timothy, who laid claims to the metropolitan see of Alexandria, condemned. Up to this time, the heresy of Appolinairushad not been anathematized, and his errors had been tolerated by the holiest 2:)atriarchs of the East, who evidenced a j^ro- found respect for his personal character. The anti-pope Ursin, had been engaged in constant intrigTies, since the death of Valen- tinian the First, to sustain his party, and re- mount the Holy See. Three years had elapsed in these vain efforts, when Damasus resolved to destroy entirely the remains of this faction, and profiting by the interregnum which took place after the death of Valens, he held a council at Rome, at which a large number of Italian bishops were jsrcseiit. The fathers addressed a letter toGratian and Valentinian, to beseech the emperors to suppress the schism of Ursin. They announced at the same time, that they had resolved, that the Roman pontiff should judge the other chiefs of the clergy ; that mere priests should remain responsible to the ordinary tribunals, but that they should not be liable to be put to the torture. The princes replied favourably to the re- quest of the council, in a letter addressed to the prefect Aquilainus. They ordered the vicars of Rome to execute the orders they received from the popes, to drive heretics from the holy city, and to expel them from the provinces. Thus the emperors, by yield- ing to the council of Rome all that it had asked, despoiled themselves of a part of their au- thority, with which they invested the pontiff HISTORY OF THE POPES. 65 Damasus. In succeeding ages we shall find the pride of the successors of the bishop of Rome elevated even to audacity — to mad- ness; and the slothfulnessof princes descend even to degradation. At this period, the frequent irruptions of the Germans into Gaul, obliged Gratian to return to the West, where he had established the seat of his empire, abandoning toTheodosius Illyrium, and the East. The two emperors were equally favoured by fortune ; Gratian, in his contests with the Germans, and Theodo- sius, in his with the dwellers on the borders of the Danube. This prince, having defeated their armies, constrained them to sue for peace. The sacred historians afhrm, that he then returned to Thessalonica, where he fell dangerously ill. The priests hastened to in- struct him in the Christian religion, and Asco- lius. bishop of that city, administered to him the sacrament of baptism, which procured for him a miraculous cure. But, if religion was strengthened in the East, by the conversion of an ilkistrious prince, it was menaced in the West, by greater perils, through the heresy of the Priscillianists. Mark, an Egyptian of ftlemphis, chief of this new sect, had come into Spain to preach his im- pious doctrines, and his eloquence had dra\^ni into the schism the rhetorician Elpidius, and a woman of high birth, named Agapa. The new convert, by the inlluence of her rank, her wealth, and her beauty, attracted a great number of sectarians, and among them, the noble and celebrated Priscillian, from whom the sect took its name. Born of one of the first families in the state, well made in his person, eloquent, well educated, zealous, sober, disinterested, Priscillian had all the qualities of a reformer, and his energy ren- dered him capable of sustaining the persecu- tions which in all states are the recompense of the apostles of the people. Ilis doctrine was embraced by great num- bers of the nobility, and the army. Above all, the women, desirous of novelty, and shining in faith, ran in crowds after him. He taught the errors of the Manicheans and the Gnos- tics; he aflirmed. that souls were a part of the essence of God ; that they descended vo- luntarily upon earth, traversing the immen- sity of the heavens, and all the degrees of principalities ; and that the great architect of the universe placed them in different bodies, in order to combat the evil principle. Accord- ing to his doctrine, men were connected with different fatal stars, and their bodies were dependant on the twelve signs of the zodiac. The ram governed the head ; the bull the neck ; the twins the shoulders ; in fine, he re- called all the reveries of the astrologers. Not recognizing the Trinity, he maintuiiicd, with Sabellius, that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, were the same God, without any real distinc- tion of persons. His dogmas differed from those of the Manicheans, in his not rejecting oju'idy the Old Testament, and in which he explained the most licentious passages by chaste allegories. He admitted, with the ca- nonical books, many apochryphal works. He prohibited his disciples from eating that which had had life, as being unclean food ; and in hatred of generation, he anathematized mar- riage, maintaining that the flesh was not the work of God, but of evil angels. In this sect, men and women assembled by night, and prayed entirely naked, in order to mortify their bodies. The maxim of Pris- cillian was, "swear, perjure yourselves, but do not discover the mysteries." Thus, their enemies not being able to convict them of real crimes, made use of this formula of initia- tion against them, and accused them of com- mitting the most horrid impurities — of making use of men and children for their debauche- ries, and of outraging nature, even with their women. The Catholics affirmed, that their priests, in their hatred of marriage, drew from the wombs of pregnant women the fa?tus, half formed, and piled them up in the midst of the church, in iron mortars. The Priscillianists, fasted on Sundays, and at Easter and Christmas, and concealed them- selves in order not to attend church. This heresy had already infected Spain, and dra^^^^ off a large number of bishops, amongst others Justantius and Salvian, who formed a party to sustain it ; but after many years of struggle, the orthodox, sustained by the prince, con- voked a council at Saragossa, where it was condemned in the absence of its followers. At the same time took place, by the orders of Gratian, the famous sjTiod of Aquileia. St. Ambrose presided over this assembly, and condemned Arianism. It then examined into the charges against the bishop of Rome, and especially the accusation of adultery, which two deacons devoted to Ursin, had before brought against him, and which was founded on the attachment of the Roman ladies to the holy father. The council examined juridi- cally, all the accu.sations against Damasus, and bore an authentic testimony to the innocence of the pope. Damasus died at length, on the 11th of December, 384, after having governed the See of Rome about eiiihteen years. He enriched the church of St. Lawrence with many splen- did presents, which were the gifts or inneri- tances to him from the Roman ladies. Vol. I. 66 HISTORY OF THE POPES. SIRICUS, THE FORTIETH POPE. [A. D. 384. — Theodosius, Arcadius and Honorius, Emperors.] Election of Siricus — Celibacy of the priests — Corruption of the clergy of Rome — Avarice of the Ecclesiastics — St. Jerome calls the pope, the scarlet woman — Debased morals of the clergy — Doctrine of Jovinian — Death of Siricus. After the death of Damasus, Siricus, a Roman by birth, and the son of Tiburcus, was chosen pope, notwithstanding the opposition of the old schismatic, Ursin. The new pon- tiff, was no sooner seated on the holy seat, than he displayed his ambition, and in order to try his power, he made new laws on a sub- ject which the great Council of Nice, had left undecided, the celibacy of the clergy. He made a decree to exclude from the cleri- cal ranks, those who preserved intimate con- nection with their wives, applying unjustly to the married clergy the words of St. Paul : " Those who are in the llesh, camiot please God." Siricus wished to imitate the Pagans, who regarded, with great veneration, virginal pu- rity ; but these latter had recognized it as an axiom, that no man could preserve it without resorting to extraordinary means ; and the hierophants, who were the first ministers of religion among the Athenians, drank hem- lock, for the purpose of rendering themselves impotent ; and as soon as they were elected to the pontificate, they ceased to bear about them marks of virility. St. Jerome, in one of his writings, puts the following words into the mouth of a Stoic, named Cheremon, who is describing the life of the ancient priests of Egypt : "Their priests haye no commerce with women from the time they attach themselves to the service of the divinities ; in order to quench the flames of unlawful desire, they abstain entirely from flesh and wine, and the ministers of Cybele were all eunuchs." Jerome appears to in- sinuate, that priests and monks, who rasMy take upon themselves vows of chastity, and engage to guard a virginal purity, should use the infallible process of the pagan ministers, when they discovered that the spirit was too weak to arrest the desires of the flesh. Soon after the death of Damasus, Jerome was obliged to quit Rome, in order to return to Palestine. His reputation for sanctity had excited the jealousy of many of the clergy; and the freedom with which he exposed their vices had excited against him the sa- cerdotal hatred. In a little treatise which he wrote on the mode of preserving virginity, he advises the virgin Eustochia, daughter of St. Paul, " to avoid the hypociites who seek the priesthood, or the deaconate, for the purpose of freer commerce with women, or to clothe themselves in rich habits, and perfume their locks. "These bad priests," he adds, "wear bril- liant rings on their fingers, and walk on their toes; their whole occupation is to learn the names and residence of handsome women, and to inform themselves of their inclinations. "In order that you may not be deceived by the appearance of a false piety, I will trace the portrait of one of these priests, master of his trade. He rises with the sun; the order of his visits is arranged ; he frequents the greatest thoroughfares ; he enters even into the chamber where the females sleep ; if he sees a pillow-case, or a napkin, or some small piece of furniture to his taste, he examines them attentively, and admires their beauty ; he feels them, mourns that he has none like them, and steals them rather than not get them'." "'Bishops even, under a pretext of bestow- ing their benediction, put out their hands to receive mone)', become the slaves of the fe- males who pay them, and render them, with assiduity, services the most base and unwor- thy, in order to obtain their inheritance." Several prelates, furious at seeing them- selves unmasked by the criticisms of St. Je- rome, revenged themselves by scandalizing him. They censured his gait and visage ; his simplicity even was suspected, and at length the calumny extended so far as to blacken his character in regard to some women and vir- gins, to whom he explained assiduously the Holy Scriptures. The exemplary conduct of Jerome, and his lofty piety, should have served to have placed him above such suspicions; but the people of Rome were prejudiced against monks who came from the East ; regardmg them, and with reason, as impostors, who sought to seduce girls of quality. The holy doctor obliged to yield to the storm, quitted Italy in order to get away from the chagrin it excited in him, and complained bitterly in his letter to Mar- cella, of the outrages he had endured in the holy city. " Read," said he, "read the apoca- lypse ; you will see what is there said of that woman clothed in scarlet, who bears upon her forehead the name of blasphemy. Behold the end of that proud city ; of a truth it con- tains a holy church, Avhere may be seen the trophies of the apostles and martyrs, where the name of Christ and his apostolic doctrine are professed ; but ambition, pride, and gran- deur divert the faithful from true piety." About the same time, a council at Rome condemned the heresy of Jovinian. This monk had passed the first years of his life in the austerities of a convent, fasting, living on bread and water, walking with naked feet, 1 wearing a coarse garment, and labouring with HISTORY OF THE POPES 67 his own hands. But afterwards, he left his convent near Milan to come to Rome, where he taught his doctrines. He maintained, that those who had been regenerated by baptism, could not again be overcome by the devil ; he affirmed, that virgins had less merit in the eyes of God than widows or married women; he taught that men should eat all kinds of food, and enjoy the good which the divinity has granted to them. Jovinian lived in conformity with his prin- ciples ; he dressed with great refinement, wore white and fine clothes of linen and silk, curled his hair, frequented the public baths, loved the games, splendid repasts, rich cook- ery and exquisite wines, as was apparent from his fresh and ruddy complexion, and liis C7i bon point. Nevertheless, he vaunted him- self on being a monk, and he preserved his celibacy in order to shun the vexatious conse- quences of marriage. His heresy found many partizans at Rome. Several persons, after having lived for a long time in continence and mortification, adopted his opinions and quitted the austerities of the cloister to return to the ordinary life of a citizen. After his condemnation, Jovinian returned to the city of Milan ; but pope Siricus sent three priests to the bishop to advise him of ihe excommunication of this heretic, and to beseech him to drive him from his church. History teaches us nothing of consequence in the life and actions of Siricus. It is sup- posed that he died in the year 308. During his reign, the reputation of St. Au- gustine began to spread through all Christian countries ; and the numerous works which he wrote against the Manicheans and the Dona- tists, caused him to be regarded as one of the pillars of the church. He was then very dif- ferent from the young Augustin of the school of Tagasta, his country, whom his school-fel- low regarded as the most debauched of the students ; for we must avow, that the first part of the life of the saint was passed in the mid.st of the greatest disorder, and that his irregularities were such, that his mother was obliged to drive him from her house. He had besides embraced the opinion of Manes, in relation to nature worship, and had publicly professed this heresy. At length, tired of his unsettled life, he married, and left Africa to settle at Milan. In this city he contracted an intimacy with the venerable Ambrose, who converted him to the Christian religion, and baptized him and his young son Adeoda- lus. Some years after, on returning to Africa, he was made a priest at Hippo, and after- wards became bishop of that city. From that time he showed himself to be intolerant and a persecutor, and pursued with the utmost rigour all Christians who held doctrines differ- ing from his own. Among the numerous works of St. Augus- tin, his treatise on labour occupies the first place ; in it he takes for his motto these words of the apostle Paul: "Whosoever is unwilling to labour, let him not eat." They cite also his work on baptism ; his work on the City of God, or the defence of the church against the children of the age : his trea- tise upon the Trinity, in which he esta- blishes the equality of the three divine per- sons; and finally, his various tracts upon original sin, the soul, grace, free-will, predes- tination of saints, perseverance, &c. It would be difficult to enumerate the works of this father of the church ; for according to the catalogTie which Possidius has left of them, their number amounts to more than one thou- sand and thirty. All these writings were composed in the interval of forty years, which took place between the conversion and the death of St. Augustine. POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE FOURTH CENTURY. .ibdication of Diocletian — His opinions in regard to the ministers of princes — Exploits of Con- stantine Chlorus — Galerius Maximin — Morals of the tyrant Masentms — He violates Chris- tian virgins — Sophronia stabs herself to escape him — Victory of Constant ine — Maxentius is drowned in the Tiber — Constantinc unites vtth Licinius — Massacres him — Portrait of Con- stantinc — His good qualities — His cruelties — He causes his son Crispus to be assassinated — He condemns Fausta, his wife, to be strangled in a hath — The sons of Constantine divide the ein- pire — Cruel icar hetiveen the brothers — Frightful disorders in the empire — Magnentius kills himself — Decentius strangles himself — Exploits of Constans — Julian the apostate — Jovian em- peror— He gives permission to espouse tiro wives — Vallus is burned alive in his tent — Gratian t.s assassinated — Valentinian re-eslablished on the throne, is strangled by his eunuchs — History of the reign of Theodosius. The cruel Diocletian, elated with glory] after the defeat of his enemies, pushed his impudence so far as to cause those who came before him to kiss his feet, and was impious enough to cause himself to be adored as a (Jod. At length, however, he perceived that this excess had renderecl him an cbject of public liatred, and he resolved to abdicate his power, fearing that the apparent submission of Constantine and Galerius might be power- less to preserve him from the violent death with which he was threatened by the people. This remorse of conscience compelled him to quit the empire, and to seek in retreat a repose of which he was deprived by the cares of government. In spite of his tyrannical 68 HISTORY OF THE POPES. conduct, this prince frequently gave utterance to beautiful sentiments, and said truly, "That nothing is more difficult than to govern well; for the ministers who serve princes are only united to betray them, — they conceal or dis- guise the truth from them, the first thing which they ought to know ] and by their flat- teries, deceive and sell their sovereigns, who pay them, in order to receive from them wise counsels." Valerius Maximian, the successor of Dio- cletian, following his example, abdicated the empire after a reign of eighteen years ; but he soon repented of this step, on discovering that a philosopher in solitude has less power than an emperor. He abandoned his retreat and returned to Rome, under the pretext of assisting the counsels of Maxentius, his son. Times were changed. The old emperor, perceiving that his design of seizing again the power, was penetrated, passed over into Gaul, to Constantino, his son-in-law. He formed a conspiracy, which was discovered by his own daughter, Flavia Maxima — and fled, in order to escape the chastisement of his perfidy. Constantine sent emissaries in pursuit of him, who took him at Marseilles, and strangled him in a dungeon. After the abdication of Diocletian and Maximian, Constantine Chlorus and Valerius Maximin divided the empire between them. Constantine Chlorus made his reign renowned by his great exploits. He recovered Britain, defeated sixty thousand Germans, and built the city of Spires, on the Rhine. His domi- nion extended over England, which he had conquered, Illyria, Asia, and all the provinces of the East. This prince loved men of let- ters, was liberal, and so great an enemy of ostentation that his table was served on earthen dishes. On great festivals of cere- mony, he besought his friends to lend him services of plate. During his reign the Christians enjoyed a profound peace. It is even related of him, that having made a decree, in which he or- dered the. i'aithful, who held places in the state, to sacrifice to idols, or to quit them, some preferring exile to place, retired ; but the prince recalled them, naming them before the court, " his true friends," and sent away those who had had the weakness to sacrifice to idols, reproaching their apostasy with bit- terness, and adding, " No, — those who are not faithful to God, cannot be devoted servants to the emperor." Constantine Chlorus died at York, in England, after having crowned Con- stantine, liis son. Galerius Maximin, before coming to the empire, had gained two great battles over the Persians, and had lost a third by his impru- dence when he was yet but Csesar. His first act of power was a declaration of war against this people ; he conquered them, pillaged their camp, seized the person of king Nors, with his family, and by his conquests extended the frontiers of the empire to the Tigris. He chose as his successors his two ne- phews. C. Valerius Maximin, called Daza before he was made Csesar, had for his share the East ] and Flavins Valerius Severus ob- tained Italy and Africa. Soon after he made these dispositions, Galerius died of an ulcer, in which were engendered a prodigious quan- tity of worms, which almost devoured him alive. Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius, son of Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximian, called the elder, having learned that Constantine had been proclaimed emperor, caused the same title to be given to him at Rome, by the sol- diers and the Praetorian guards, whom he per- mitted to violate females and murder citizens. This prince, entirely addicted to magic, dared not commence any enterprise without con- sulting oracles and divinations. He overbore the provinces with extraordinary tributes, and despoiled the richest inhabitants of their pa- trimony. Wine, that perfidious liquor which destroys the reason, maddened him ; in his fits of drunkenness he gave cruel orders, and made them mutilate his fellows at the table. His avarice was insatiable; his debau- cheries and cruelties equalled those of Nero. Not being able to conquer the resistance of a Christian lady, named Sophronia, whom he wished to dishonour, he sent soldiers to bring her from her house — when this courageous female, feigning compliance with his desires, demanded only time to clothe herself richly, to appear before him, and entered her dress- ing chamber ; as she did not return, the im- patient soldiers forced the door, and found her dead body with a poignard in her bosom. A Christian virgin, of Antioch. named Pe- lagia, with her mother and sisters, also slew themselves, to avoid the danger to which they were exposed from the pursuit of Maxi- min, the colleag-ue of Maxentius. War was then declared between Maxentius and Constantine. The latter approached Rome, and issued a proclamation, in which he declared that he came not to make war upon the Romans, but to deliver the capital from a monster, who caused the people to be massacred by his Prcetorian soldiers. Maxentius, on his side, sought to procure victory by magical operations. He immolated lions in impious sacrifices, and caused preg- nant women to be opened, in order to examine the children in their wombs, and consulted auguries. The oracles being unfavourable, the affrighted prince quitted the palace, with his wife and son. to retire to a private house. Nevertheless, he caused his troops to sally forth from Rome. They consisted of an hun- dred and sixty thousand infantry, and eighteen thousand cavalry. His army having passed the Tiber, encountered that of Constantine, which numbered eighty thousand infantry and eight thousand cavalry, and the battle commenced. At the same moment, a violent sedition broke out in Rome. The people, indignant at the conduct of Maxentius, whom supersti- tion and cowardice had retained in the city, precipitated themselves towards the Circus, where the prince was giving public games, in HISTORY OF THE POPES. 69 honoui of his advent to the empire, and made him hear this tonible shout, '• Death to the traitor ! Death to the; coward and the traitor ! Glory to the invincible Constantino !"' Maxen- tius, alarmed by these shouts of admiration for his rival, lied from the circus, anil ordered th(! senators to consult the Sybiiline books. They replied, that they announced that on that very day the enemy of the Romans would perish miserably; then the prince, re- gardinit: the victory assured, rejoined his army. On his leaving Rome, however, screech owls reposed themselves on the walls of the city, and followed him even to the field of battle. This sinister presage, seen by all the army, abated the courage of his soldiers. Their ranks give way before the legions of Con- stantine, and the route commences. JNIaxen- tius himself, drawn along by the crowd, re- gains the bridge of boats which he had built ; by chance or treason, the boats separate, and he falls into the river, where he is drowned. Maxentius thus became the victim of the snare which he had laid for Constantine, for the bridge was built in such a way, that in case of route, his enemies traversing it, it would break in the middle, and submerge them in the Tiber. The next day his body was found, and his head was cut off and car- ried through the streets of Rome on the point of a pike. Constantine, master of the empire, associ- ated w-ith him Licinius, who had espoused his sister, Constantia. These two princes destroyed the army of Jovius Maximin, who aift'cted the title of emperor. Licinius was the son of a peasant of Dacia ; by his courage he had advanced, step by step, in the army, to its highest dignities, and had been made Caesar by the emperor Galerius. Become prince, he showed himself avari- cious, transported, intemperate, shameless; as if the supreme rank must bestow all vices, at the same time it does the power of grati- fying them. In his extreme ignorance, he called literary men "a poison, a public pest," and caused them to be put to deatL though guiltless of any crime. He soon became suspected by his colleague, because he renewed the persecution against the Church, and sought to rally to his side the pagan priests. He was concjnered by the troops of his brother-in-law, and beheaded. After the defeat and death of this brutal man, Constantine enjoyed in peace the sove- reign authority. This prince had a majestic port and a great soul ; he was brave, hardy, provident in his enterprises; but ho joined great vices to these good (pialities. Our de- sign is not to enter into the details of a life 60 illustrious, and we will only comment on the iwrtiality of the friends or enemies of the first Christian monarch. The one has been prodigal of extreme euloginms on liim ; the others have char-. furious at this new insult, laid siege a third time to Rome, took the city by treason, on the 24!li of A ii<;ust, 410, and gave it up to his soldiers to be pil- laged. The church of St. Peter wns aione i spared, by order of the conqueror. Rut the 74 HISTORY OF THE POPES. pontiff, who had foreseen the misfortune of the holy city, for the second time cowardly aban- doned his see, and took refuge at Ravenna with the emperor. The pillage lasted three days. Then Alaric sallied from Rome, and passed mto Campania, where his troops sacked Nola. After having ravaged all that part of Italy, the king of the Goths died at Cosenza, in returning from Reg- gio. His step-brother Ataulf having succeeded him, passed again through Rome, which he pillaged anew. The greater part of the in- habitants were reduced to a deplorable mdi- gence ; almost all the Christians were dis- persed, and constrained to seek refuge in the neighbouring cities of Tuscany, in Sicily, Af- rica, Egypt, the East, and Palestine. Innocent returned to his see when the dan- ger was passed, and availed himself of the general desolation to crush the remains of idol worship, and strengthen his spiritual au- thority. He drove the Novatians from the city, and pursued with extreme rigour all un- fortunate heretics. The noise of the conference at Carthage, in 411, between the orthodox and Donatists, had attracted into Africa Pelagius and Celes- tius, two divines of great Britain, who had dwelt for a long time in Italy. Celestius was of an open character ; Pelagius, on the con- trary, was tricky, politic, and fond of good cheer, like all other monks, whom Jerome thus criticises : '•' They treat their bodies with great regard ; but the Christian should war against the flesh, which is the enemy of the soul. But perhaps they do this in order to obey the precept of the evangelist, which orders us to love our enemies." Celestius rejoined his friend Pelagius in Palestine, where their works were favourably received. Count Marcellinus, the governor of the province, wished to examine into their doctrine, and addressed himself to St. Au- gnastin. The bishop of Hippo replied by this captious proposition : "Yes, man can be with- out sin, by aid of the grace of God, but it never happens." The English monk taught the same doctrine, affirming that God could grant this grace to his elect. Thus the dif- ference in the two sentiments consisted in a dispute on words ; but fearing to draw on him- self this redoubtable adversary, he wrote to St. Augustin a letter, full of protests on the orthodoxy of his faith, and was prodigal of excessive praise towards him. The holy bishop being flattered in his vanity, received him to the communion. Pelagius had as yet published nothing but a small commentary on the Epistles of St. Paul, and a letter, addressed to a beautiful woman named Demetria, who made a profes- sion of virginity. This piece has been attri- buted to St. Jerome or St. Augustin, so subtle was the venom of his errors. But when his treatise appeared, entitled " The natural power of man to build up again the right of free will," a general reprobation greeted the daring innovator. St. Jerome re- futed it by dialog-ues, and St. Augustm accu- mulated mountains of volumes against this new heresy. Pelagius having demanded permission to justify his doctrines before a council, forty bishops assembled at Diospolis in Palestine. After having taken cognizance of all the con- tested articles, the fathers rendered the fol- lowing decree : " We are satisfied with the declarations of the monk Pelagius here i)re- sent, who agrees in holy doctrine, and con- demns that which is contrary to the faith of the church. We declare that he is in eccle- siastic and Catholic communion." Theodore of Mopsuesta, celebrated for his profound learning and great wisdom, was one of the most powerful supporters of Pelagius in the East. John, bishop of Jerusalem, also favoured the new doctrine. In order to render the Pelagians odious, St. Jerome brought an atrocious accusation against them. He wrote to the pope, that their furious band had attacked him in a monastery, which they had delivered to the flames, after having pil- laged it ; that he himself had been constrained to save himself in a fortified tower. The pontiff addressed a long letter to John of Jerusalem, in order to point out to him the author of these violences, and to engage him to put a stop to them by his authority. He also wrote to St. Jerome a letter of consola- tion, undertaking to bring his accusation be- fore his see, in order that judgment might be rendered upon it. This letter is a convincing proof of the ambition of the popes, who al- lowed no opportunity of usurping new rights in the church to escape them. The bishops of the province of Africa as- sembled as usual at Carthage, in their annual council. The fathers, yielding to the solici- tations of the bishop of Hippo, decided that Pelagius and Celestius should be anathema- tized, in order that the fear of excommunica- tion might bring back all whom they had deceived, even if it should not have that effect upon themselves. The council then wished to inform the pope of the judgment which it had decreed, in order to give it more so- lemnity, through the aid of the authority of the see of Rome, and sent to the holy father the proceedings of the synod, as well as the writings of the bishops Heros and Lazams. The synod, governed by St. Augustin, re- futed, summarily, the principles attributed to Pelagius. and finished its bulls of excommu- nication as follows : " We ordain that Pelagius and Celestius disavow this doctrine, and the writings produced in its defence, although we have not been able to convince them of falsehood ; for we anathematize in general those who teach that human nature can of itself avoid sin : and those who show them- selves to be the enemies of grace." This anathema could not reach Pelagius, who maintained, on the contrary, the necessity of grace, in order to live without sin. The pope replied to the synodical letters of the council. He bestowed great eulogiums on the bishops, for the vigour with which they had condemned error, and for the respect they HISTORY OF THE POPES. 75 had evinced for the Holy See, in consuUing it in regard to their decisions. He added, with mtolerable pride, that they had con- formed to the laws of the church, which com- manded that all ecclesiastical causes, before being dulinitely decided in the provinces, should be submitted to the judgment of the successor of St. Peter. " The Africans repulsed this pretension of the bishop of Rome. They declared they had not written to him to ask his confirmation of that which they had decided, but only to pray him to approve of what they had done, which he could not refuse to do, without being suspected of heresy."' In etfect, they accused Innocent of favour- ing Celestius ; and he, in order to set aside their suspicions, replied in a second letter, that he detested the opinions of that heretic. He declared that he approved of his condem- nation by the bishops of Africa, and joined his suffrages to theirs. Then the holy father produced several decretals on the necessity of grace from Jesus Christ, who was not born of the person, because the contrary opin- ion was deduced from the writings of Pela- gius and Cele.stius, a consequence which the two monks disavowed. He launched his ana- themas upon heretics who maintained that they had no need of the grace of God to make them good, declaring them unworthy of the communion of the faithful, and separate from the church as rotten members. He adds, however, that if they wish to acknowledge their errors, and to admit the grace of Jesus Christ in sincere conversion, it is the duty of the church to aid them, and not refuse its communion to those who have fallen into sin. A great number of the decretals of this pon- tiff, addressed to divers bishops of Italy, but without any date, have been preserved. One of them, addressed to Felix, bishop of Nocera, is in relation to ordinations. The holy father declares that the mutilation of a finger, or other part of the body, does not render it irregular, unless it is voluntary. The second is ad- dressed to Florentius, bishop of Tibur, accused of having encroached upon his neighbour. The pope summoned him to Rome alter the festival of Easter, to decide upon his claims. In another decretal. Innocent decided that a second marriage, contracted during the cap- tivity of a first wife, should be declared null, on her return to her husband. As to the apochrj'phal letter, addressed to the emperor Arcadms, it has evidently been fabricated by the monks, to sustain the fable of the e.vcommunication of the emperor and empress. The author of this letter supposes that Eudoxia lived after the death of St. Chrysostom ; but it has been proved that she died shortly after the exile of that bishop. Besides, the popes at this period would not have dared to excommunicate princes, from fear of the chastisement which v/ould have followed. St. Iimocent had governed the church of Rome, and given laws to all the other churches, during nearly fifteen years, when he died on the 12th of March, 417. This pope, skilled in ecclesiastical laws, knew how to invoke traditions into use, in order to make new rules from them. He ex- liibited a jealous desire to increase the gran- deur of the church of Rome, and aggrandize the prerogatives of his see. His works were written with elegance, though at times he employed expressions slightly inelegant. He knew how to give an adroit turn to his thoughts and reasoning, which were fre- quently wanting in soundness. ZOZIMUS, THE FORTY-THIRD POPE. [A. D. 417. — HoNORius and Theodosius the Yocnger, Emperors.] Election of Zozimus — He condemns the accusers of Celestius — Receives Pelagius to his commu- nion — His inconsistency — He condemns those u'hom he had absolved, and absolves those whom he had condemned — He persecutes the Pelagians — Wishes to exterminate them — Is convicted of a criminal imposture — His death. Zozimus, the successor of St. Innocent, was a Greek by birth, and the son of a priest named Abraham. Though very aged, he kjit'w how to profit skilfully by the occasions which offered of augmenting his authority, and ex-tending the rights of his church, in dis- cussions with the bishops of Gaul. Celestius, after his condemnation by the bishops of Carthage, had appealed to pope Innocent. The Africans were not disquieted by this irregular step ; and Celestius himself, not attaching any great importance to his appeal, passed over into Palestine. But Pela- gius. more crafty, did not despah of bringing Rome into his interests, by flattering the am- bition of the pontiff. Innocent was dead, and Zozimus had suc- ceeded him. Informed by Pelagius of this change, Celestius, driven from Constantinople, hastened to the West with the design of gain- ing the good graces of the new pope, by ac- cepting him as a judge of his cause. Zozi- mus. finding it an opportunity to increase his influence, and to draw before his tribunal cases of appeal, listened favourably to Celestius, and consented to hear his justification. He hoped besides, that this monk, who was of a bold spirit, would minister to his hatred agahist the 76 HISTORY OF THE POPES. Africans, whom he wished to humble. He declared Celestius to be a good Catholic, con- demned Heros and Lazarus, who were the accusers of the Pelagian doctrine, and de- posed them from the pontificate. Emboldened by this success, the heretics sent to Zozimus letters of communion. Pray- lus, bishop of Jerusalem, recommended him to examine the doctrines of Pelagius; and Pelagius himself addressed the holy father, in order to justify his principles. These writ- ings having been publicly read at Rome, all the assistants and the pontiff declared that they contained nothing but the doctrine of the church. The fathers, filled with joy and ad- miration, could scarcely restrain their tears, and blamed themselves for having calumni- ated men of a faith so pure. But Zozimus was not long in contradicting himself, and proving by his conduct that the Holy See is not infallible. After having received Pelagius into his communion, and overwhelmed him with eulo- giums ; after having launched anathemas against his enemies, the holy father, shaken by the firmness of the bishops of Africa, con- demned authentically the Pelagians, under the pretext that Celestius had absented him- self from Rome without his permission. He wrote to the bishops of Africa and all the churches, to advise them of this new decision. In his bulls he explained the errors of which Celestius had been accused by Paulinus, and did not omit any of the calumnies with which the two authors of Pelagianism had been over- whelmed, declaring them excommunicated, and reduced to the rank of penitents. Fol- lowing the custom of courts, the will of the master changed the opinion of the synod, and all the clergy of Rome confirmed the judg- ment of the pope. Zozimus wished to make his zeal, against the heresy which he had protected, brilliant, in order to stifle the complaints of the victims of his inconsistency. He sent to the emperor Honorius a copy of the judgment which he had pronounced against Pelagius and Celes- tius, and demanding that the heretics should be immediately driven from Rome. The em- peror dared not resist the wishes of the pon- tiff, and gave a rescript against the Pelagians, ordering that their followers should be de- nounced to the magistrates, and those guilty of the heresy should be sent into perpetual banishment, and their property be confiscated. The pope, become more powerful by the weakness of Honorius, pursued with bitter- ness the design which he had formed of exter- minating the friends of Pelagius. He deposed all the bishops who refused to subscribe to the condemnation of the new heresy ; gave orders to drive ihem from Italy, and to tear them from their dwellings by a rude soldiery. This persecution caused the conversion of a large number of priests, who consented to submit to the Holy See, to re-enter their churches. But eighteen bishops firmly main- tained their opinions, and among ihem is found the famous Juhan, bishop of Eclana. The pope having signified to them that they must condemn Pelagius and Celestius. they boldly replied, that they refused to subscribe to the last letter of Zozimus, and did not re- cognize the authority of the bishop of Rome. Zozimus, whose adventurous spirit de- lighted in difficulties, had to maintain a violent quarrel with the bishops of Africa, in which he was convicted of imposture. The fact presents some curious incidents, which de- serve to be related. A priest named Apiarius, refusing to submit to a punishment which had been inflicted on him by Urban, bishop of Sicca, in Eastern INlauritania, appealed from his excommunication to the bi-shop of Rome. This step appeared irregular in Alrica, because the council of Miletus had prohibited this kind of appeal : but the pope, without much ex- amination, as to whether the means which offered themselves to subserve his ambition were legitimate, availed himself of the op- portrmity, and sent three legates into Africa. The deputies, on arriving at Carthage, found the bishops assembled in a s}'-nod, presided over by Aurelius. They presented the in- structions with whicWthey were charged, and demanded permission to read them in the council. The letters of the holy father con- tained four articles : the first authorized ap- peals from bishops to the pope ; the second prohibited the journeys of bishops to court ; the third permitted priests and deacons to appeal from the excommunication of their bishop to neighbouring prelates; the fourth commanded the bishops to excommunicate or cite bishop Urban to appear before the pontiff, if he did not receive Apianius into his com- munion. The fathers adopted the second article without any difficulty, for the bishops of Af- rica had already made a canon in the council of Carthage, to prevent bishops and priests from resorting to the court of Rome. But on the first article, which permitted bishops to appeal to the pope from the judgments which condemned them, and on the third, which sent back the causes of the clergy to neigh- bouring bishops, the prelates repulsed the pretensions of the pope. To put an end to opposition, Zozimus had the impudence to assert that the canons of the council of Nice declared that all Chris- tian kingdoms were, in the last resort, under the jurisdiction of the tribunal of Rome. The Africans, surprised at hearing canons quoted of which they had no knowledge, ordered researches to be made into the copies of the decrees of the council of Nice, which were in the archives of the church at Carthage ; and having discovered that Zozinlus relied upon decisions which were not in existence, they declared, in full synod, that the pontiff was an infamous usurper. The act of the pope was a piece of knavery of the most criminal character, and which we cannot too much condemn. But he had not the grief to survive his shame. He died on the 26th of December, 418, before the return of his embassadors, and was interred on the HISTORY OF THE POPES. 77 road to Tibur, near the body of St. Law- rence. Zozimus is accufted of havinjj trampled under foot all law.s, human and divine, to satisfy his unbridled ambition. Skilful in di- vining the weak point of his adversaries, he forgot nothing which could injure them. Of an excessive pride, he pushed his audacity to its extreme limits, and when he perceived that the bow was about to break from the force of its tension, he suddenly relaxed it. His conduct was artilicial; and he always showed himself the enemy of repose and tranquillity. The zeal which he bore for re- ligion was the eti'ect of his ambition, which seconded marvellously a great skill in public affairs, and a tortuous policy, which INlachia- vel would not have disowned. The church has, nevertheless, conferred upon the pontiff the title of saint ; but if God has received Zozimus into his royal kingdom, and pardoned his execrable ambition, his re- volting injustice, and his bold impostures, no one need fear eternal damnation ! BONIFACE THE FIRST, FORTY-FOURTH POPE. [A. D. 418. — HoNORius and Theodosius the Second, Emperors.] Schism in the church — Eulalius and Boniface — The two popes excite revolts in the holy city — The emperor declares against Boniface — The partizans of Boniface icrite to the emperor against Eulalius — Council of Ravenna — Eulahus enters Rome in opposition to the decree of Ilonorius — He is driven from the city, and Boniface re-established as pope — Rescript of the emperor — Elections of popes in the fifth century — Sixth council of Carthage — llie ambition of the pontiffs repressed by llteodosius — Death of Boniface. After the death of pope Zozimus, Sym- machus,prefect of Rome, harangued the peo- ple, to warn them that they should leave to the clergy the freedom of election. He threat- ened, at the same time, the trades-people and chiefs of the quarters with terrible punish- ments, if they troubled the peace of the city. Some priests then assembled, according to custom, to proceed to an election; but before the funeral of Zozimus took place, the arch- deacon Eulalius resolved to usurp the ponti- fical chair; and at the head of his faction he took possession of the church of the Lateran, closing all the entrances to it. His party was composed of deacons, some priests, and a very large number of citizens, who remained two entire days in the church, waiting for the solemn moment of ordination, that is, the next Sunday. The other faction of the clergy and the people assembled in the church of Theodore, resolved to elect Boniface, and sent to Eulalius three priests, to order him not to undertake anything without the participation of the ma- jority of the clergy ; but the embas.siidors were maltreated and detained as prisoners. Eulalius, supported by the aid of Symma- chus, was ordaiJied by the bishop of Ostia, and Boniface received the imposition of hands in the church of St. Marcel. The prefect Symmachus wrote to the em- peror Ilonorius, who was at Ravenna, to ad- vise him of what was passing in Rome. He condemned the election of Boniface, and de- manded his orders, in order to execute his judgment, addressing him at the same time favourably to the cause of Eulalius. The emperor, prejudiced by the story of Symmachus, declared for Eulalius, and by his rescript, ordered Boniface to leave Rome, commanding the prefect to drive him out, if he resisted, and to punish the rebellious as they deserved. Symmachus sent his secretary to inform Boniface that he was coming to find him, to advise him of the will of the emperor ; but the latter, who held his meeting in the church of St. Paul, despised his orders, and caused his people to beat the ofRcer whom Symma- chus had sent, and entered the city in defiance of the prefect and his people. The troops then came to disperse the people who accom- panied the pope, and to disengage their officer, who had been almost killed in the tumult. An account was rendered to the emperor of all these disorders, and the pontiff Boniface was accused of having excited them. Eulalius always exercised the fund ions of the episcopate in the part of the cit}- which had recognized him as pontiff; but tlu; priests, the jmrtizansof Boniface, wrote to the i)rince to set him against Eulalius, affirming that he had been misadvised. They besought him to revoke his first orders, and to order to his court the anti-pope and those who sustained him, promising that Boniface would render himself there with his clergy. They be- sought him. besides, to drive from Rome the faithful who refused to conform to his deci- sion. Honoring consented to suspend his first de- cree, and signified to Boniface and Eulalius that they should come toliiivenna, under pain of deposition, accompanied by the prelates who had ordained them both. The bishops, convoked to Ravenna, assem- bled in council, and put off the decision of this affair to the first day of May, after (he celebration of the festival of Easter. The emperor prohibited Boniface and Eulniiusfrom entering Rome under any pretext, before judg- ment was pronounced, and ordered that the 78 HISTORY OF THE POPES, holy mysteries should be celebrated by Achri- 1 les, bishop of Spoletta, who had not d.eclared for either party. Eulalius, yielding to bad advice, re-entered the city without the knowledge of Symma- chus, and lost by his imprudence the place which he might have advantageously con- tended for. Honorius, who was favourable to him, irritated by this disobedience, made a decree in these terms: "Since Eulalius has returned to Rome in defiance of the orders which prohibited the two pretenders from ap- proaching the city, he must instantly leave his church, to remove all pretence for sedi- tion ] otherwise we shall declare him de- prived of his dignity. It will not be received as an excuse, that the people retain him by force ; for if any one of the clergy communi- cates with him, he shall be punished himself, and the laity be banished from our slates. We charge the bishop of Spoletta to celebrate divine service during the holy days of Easter, and for this purpose the church of the Late- ran shall be open to him alone." Symmachus, having received this decree, informed Eulalius of it on the same day ; the latter replied that he would think of it, and did not wish to leave Rome in spite of the urgency of his friends. The next day he assembled the people, and seized upon the church of the Lateran, where he baptized and celebrated Easter. The prefect was then compelled to drive him away by his troops, and placed officers to guard the church, that Achilles of Spoletta might celebrate the so- lemnity in tranquillity. Eulalius was arrested and sent into exile, with several clergy of his party, which excited new seditions. The emperor Honorius, informed of all these disorders, declared Eulalius excluded from the Holy See, and Boniface at liberty to return to Rome to take the govenunent of the church. The senate and people evidenced great joy in finding an end put to these bloody quarrels, and two days afterwards Boniface, amid general acclamations, entered the city in triumph. Peace was then restored to the church, and Eulalius, having promised to re- nounce all his pretensions, received in recom- pense the bishopric of Nepi. Boniface then wrote a letter to the emperor, beseeching him to make an edict which should prevent, in future, the intrigues and cabals which had taken place on the death of a pope, in order to seize upon the bishopric of Rome. Honorius replied to the wishes of the holy father by the following decree : " If, -contrary to our desires, your holiness should quit the earth, let all the world know they must abstain from intrigues to be elevated to the papacy ; thus, when two ecclesiastics shall be ordained contrary to the rules, neither of them shall be considered as bishop • but only he whose election shall be confirmed anew Dy the consent of all ;" which shows us that the bishop of Rome was elected by the clergy and the people, and consecrated by a bishop, with the consent of the emperor. The legates whom Zozimus had sent into Africa on the affair of Apianius, had assisted at the general council held in Carthage, in the hall of the church of Fausta. and in which new debates were entered upon, on the sub- ject of the canons falsilied by the pope. After the conclusion of the synod, the legates re- turned to Rome, and rendered an account of the outrage which had been committed on the Holy See. Boniface, furious, resolved to exterminate the Pelagians, and solicited from the emperor a precept, of which mention is made in a letter which Honorius wrote from Ravenna to the bishop of Carthage. It says, "That in order to restrain the obstinacy of the bishops, who maintain still the doctrine of Pe- lagius, it is enjoined on Aurelius to warn them that if they do not subscribe to the condem- nation, they shall be deposed from the epis- copate, driven from their cities, and excommu- nicated." Aurelius, a submissive slave of the court of Rome, hastened to execute these orders, threatening the bishops with all the wrath of the prince. But Theodosius, shortly after his marriage, issued a precept against the authority of the pope, in which he declared the sees of Illyria were not subjected to the judgments of the bishops of Rome, and that the prelates of Constantinople enjoyed the same privileges as the Roman pontiffs. The prince also or- dered a council to be held at Corinth, to exam- ine into several disputes which had occurred between the churches. Boniface complained of this to the patriarch of Constantinople, and wrote to him : " If you read the canons you wull see that yours is the second or third see after the Roman church. The great churches of Alexandria and Antioch guard their au- thority by canons, and yet they have recourse to our see in important affairs, as iir those of Athanasius and Flavian of Antioch. I pro- hibit you then from assembling to discuss the ordination of Perigen. If, since his ordina- tion, he has committed crimes, our brother Rufus will take cognizance of them, and re- port to us, for we alone have the right of judging him." He then recommends them to obey Rufus, and threatens with excommu- nication those who shall go to the council. Boniface then sent a deputation to the em- peror, to beseech him to sustain the ancient privileges of the Roman church. Honorius wrote to Theodosius, who replied, that " the ancient privileges of the Roman church should be observed according to the canons, and that he had charged the prefects of the Preetorians to cause them to be executed." In the course of the same year, the holy father repressed in Ganl the pretensions of Patroclus of Aries, who had ordained out of his province a bishop, who was asked for neither by the clergy nor the people of his residence. At length the pope Boniface died in the month of October, in the year 423. and was interred in the cemetery of St. Felicita. St. Simon the Stylite, who lived during the pontificate of Boniface the First, had taken up his dwelling on the summit of a column forty HISTORY OF THE POPES. 79 cubits high, on which he lived thirty years. This fanatic was born at Sisan, a city situated on the confines of Cilicia and Syria. He had entered into a Greek monastery, by the ad- vice of a priest, and had been expelled from it by the abbot, who believed him insane, from the cruel macerations and injurious ab- stinences to which he condemned himself. On leaving the monastery he retired into a grotto, at lire foot of Momit Telenissus, where he resolved to imitate Jesus Christ, bypassing lent without taking any nourishment. A pious Cenobite of the neighbourhood, whom he had apprized of his intentions, wished to dissuade him from them. Simon fell into a passion with him, and prohibited him from coming to visit him iluring that period. The poor monk, thinking that he had lost his reason, left for him ten loaves of bread and a jug full of water, and did not go again to the grotto until the forty days had expired. His astonishment was great on finding the provisions untouched, and the fanatical Simon extended on the earth and giving no signs of life. He imme- diately caused him to take some drops of water, and administered to him the eucharist. At the same moment, says the legend, Simon rose with his full strength, and appeared as satiated, as if he had passed lent in the midst of feasting. Since that period he had pre- served the same abstinence, and had preached for thirty years from the top of his column, exhorting the faithful to follow his example. His preachings, and the singularity of his sacrilice, had unfortunately too much in- fluence in stimulating the imagination of devotees and exciting imitators of him. The most distinguished of these was Si- mon the Second, who mounted on a co- lumn at the age of fifty years, and who remained there sixty-eight years without ever descending. The exaltation of the faithful was then carried to such an extreme for macerations, that fanatics entered into ditches, only keep- ing their heads above them, and waited for death in this position ; others made a vow not to wear clothing; they remained entirely naked, exposed to the heat of summer and the cold of winter ; men and women lived in herds like beasts, and slept at night, pell-mell in grottoes, in form of a stable, in order to exercise themselves in conquering all kinds of temptations. CELESTIN THE FIRST, FORTY-FIFTH POPE. [A. D. 423. — Theodosius the Second, and Valentinian the Third. Emperors.] EuhiUvs refuses the pontifical see — Election of Celestin — Accusations against Anthony, bishop of Fusela — l^he bishops of Africa depose him on account of his crimes — The pope reinstates him — Nestorius — He is calumniated by St. Cyril and Evagcjs — Council of Rome — Council of Ephesus — Nestorius vnjustly condemned — Eulosium on Nestorius — New condemnation of the Pelagians — Celestin defends the dqctrine of St. Augustine — Death of the pope — his character — He persecutes the Novatians — Extortions of the priests. After the death of Boniface the First, many members of the clergy wished to recall Eulalius, who had before disputed with him the pontifical see. But this priest, having be- come a philosopher, refused the tiara, and remained in his retreat, in Campania, where he lived another year. The chair of St. Peter remained vacant for nine days, when Celestin, who was a Roman by birth, and the son of PriscuS; was chosen without opposition. Scarcely elevated to the pontifical .see, the sad affair of appeals from beyond the sea, the rock on which the humility of the popes was wrecked, was renewed by the appeals of the priest Apiarius, and of Anthony, bishop of Fusela. This last was a young man whom St. Augustine had brought up in hismonastery. He had only attained to the degree of a reader, when his protector imposed his hands upon him, and made him bishop of Fusela, a small city at the extremity of the diocese of Hippo. Anthony was received by the faithful with entire submission, but soon the disorders and scandal of his conduct became so great that the people revolted against his authority. A council of bishops assembled to judge I him. The Fusel ians accused him of pillage, exactions and debauchery, and furnished proof of their accusations. The fathers, not j being able to refuse a condemnation, yet de- I siring to exhibit indulgence for a protege of St. Augustine's, left him the title of bishop, though depriving him of the government of his bishopric. Anthony, emboldened by the weakness of the synod, presented a request to the pope, in which he demanded to be re-established in his church, maintaining that he could not be rightly deprived of it, or that he should have been deposed from the pontificate. Celestin wrote to the prclati's of Africa in favour of the young bi.shoj). but demanding his re-e.stab- lishment only in case a true recital of facts had been made to him. Anthony, ."Strong in the judiimeiit of the bi.shop of Rome, threat- ene(l them that he would cause it to be exe- cuteil by the secular power, or by an armed hand. Then Augustine, to shun the eifectsof general indignation, determined to send to Celestin all the proceedings, beseeching him to interpose his authority, to hinder manifes- tations of violence. 80 HISTORY OF THE POPES. The letter of St. Augustine was written at a time when the bishops of Africa still showed a deference for appeals to Rome ; but when they had acquired an entire knowledge of the Canons of Nice, they declared, that they were unwilling to suffer appeals beyond the sea, and the affair of Anthony of Fusela terminated to the disgrace of the pope. Celestni wished also to re-instate Apiarius, and sent him back into Africa with bishop Faustin. On his arrival, the African prelates assembled a new council, over which Aure- lius of Carthage presided. They examined mto the affair of Apiarius, and he was con- victed of so great crimes, that Faustin him- self, not daring to defend him, wrapped himself in his cloak of office, as the advocate of the Holy See, and opposed the council, under the pretext that it was trespassing on the privileges of the bishop of Rome. At last he declared to the fathers that they ought to receive Apiarius to their communion without examination, and solely because the pope had re-instated him. After three days of contest, the guilty man, pressed by remorse of conscience, confessed all the crimes of which he had been accused, infamous crimes, which excited the general indignation and aggravated the excommuni- cation. Then the fathers, in council, de- manded, ironically, from Faustin, where the Holy Spirit which inspired the popes came from, since Celestin had granted his commu- nion to so great a culprit ; and they ordered him to write to the pontiff that they prohibited him from receiving those whom they had ex- communicated. Celestin, seeing his authority rejected in Africa, turned his attention towards the West. He sent several decretal letters to the prelates of the provinces of Vienne and Nar- bonne, for the purpose of correcting abuses. In a very remarkable letter, he condemns the bishops who wore a distinctive dress, and were known from the other faithful by a man- tle and a girdle. " You ought to distinguish yourselves from the people, wrote he, not by dress, but by your doctrine and the purity of your morals ; the priests should not seek to impose on the eyes of the faithful, but to en- lighten their minds." What would have been his indignation if he could have foreseen that the earth would one day be covered with monks, which che- quered it black and white ; with friars ridic- ulously clad, shod or unshod; with domini- cans, their heads shaved, or wearing long hair, and all distinguished by the particular marks of their order. The second abuse condemned by the pope was the custom of refusing repentance to the dying; the third, the habit of ordaining bishops from simple laymen, who had not filled the different degrees of the clerical order. " You are not content with ordaining the laity, he writes, but it happens that you ordain as bishops persons accused of crimes ; thus, we learn that the monk Daniel, after having been superior of a nunnery in the East, has retired into Gaul ; we have also learned that he has been accused by the in- mates of his nunnery of infamous crimes and odious debaucheries. We have sent all this information to the bishop of Aries, to cite Daniel before his council, and yet at the very same time you ordained him a bishop." Towards the end of the same year, the cele- brated Nestorius commenced spreading his doctrines. Evager speaks of him with the bitterness and bad faith which fanaticism never fails to inspire in the slaves of the Ro- man Court. "This tongue, the enemy of God; writes he, forges blasphemies, sells Jesus Christ a second time, divides the body of the Saviour, and rends it. Nestorius re- fuses to the Holy Virgin the name of Mother of God, although the Holy Spirit has conse- crated to her this title, through the councils and the holy fathers. He calls her only Mother of Christ, and this outrage fills with consternation the hearts of all the faithful. Anastasius. his disciple, that heretical priest, become the obstinate defender of the opinions ot his master, wishes to lead us back again to Judaism. He does not fear to profane the temple of the Lord, and in the church, at Constantinople, in the presence of all the people, he dared to teach this impious doc- trine, 'that no one could call Mary the mother of God, for Mary was a woman, and God could not be born of a woman.' " " On hearing these abominable words, the scandalized faithful murmured against the sacrilegious priest ; but the patriarch Nesto- rius, the original author of the blasphemy, sanctioned, in place of condemning it, and outdoing the impiety of his disciple, was abandoned enough to say, 'I will carefully guard myself from calling God an infant of two or three months old.' " The pope, advised by St. Cyril of the rapid progress which the new heresy was making, assembled a council at Rome to examine the writings of Nestorius. The Patriarch of Con- stantinople was condemned, and Cyril was charged with the execution of the sentence. Celestin then sent into Great Britain St. Geirmain, bishop of Auxerre, to resist Agricola, the son of a Pelagian bishop, who was spread- ing false doctrines on the subject of grace ; St. Louis, bishop of Treves, was also nomi- nated ambassador by a numerous council, which assembled in Gaul. During their jour- ney, the two prelates performed, by the aid of the Spirit of God, a great number of mira- cles. We will be content with relating the most remarkable. When they had entered upon the confer- ence with the heretics, a philosopher of the time proposed a singular expedient hi order to put an end to the discussion ; he presented to them a blind girl to cure. The proposal appeared insidious, and the two parties de- clined the proof, — but St. Germain, recollect- ing that he was fortified by precious relics, accepted the offer, applied his talisman to the eyes of the blind girl, and restored her to sight. At the same moment, the Pelagians, HISTORY OF THE POPES. II enlightened by an heavenly inspiration, ab- jurcnl thu errors which they had maintained ! ! ! Whilst the Pel;igiaiis were being converted in Great Britain, Si. Cyril, in execution of the orders of the pontifl, assembled a general council in the East. As soon as they had cele- brated the festival of Easter, the bishops of the different provinces of the empire assem- bled at Ephesus. The parties were warm in their discussions — the holy fathers villilied each other, and in the midst of disorder and confusion, Nestorius was deposed by the bish- ops, who adhered to St. Cyril. The latter, in his turn, was excommunicated by the bishops who adhered to John of Antioch. Never was a judgment more precipitous nor suspicious than that rendered by the council of Ephesus agahist Nestorius: a single sitting only was consumed in the examination of his writings and those of his adversary, and the president of the council, St. Cyril, the avowed enemy of the patriarch, had opened it, without even waiting for the legates of ihe pope. But posterity has freed Nestorius from the accu.sations brought against him by St. Cyril and his calumniator, Evager, — for it has been shown that the meanhig which he attributed to the epithet. Mother of God, was reasonable and orthodox. Thus, the pretended heretic underwent an unjust condemnation. Cyril, who had been the persecutor, was re-instated in his see by the emperor, and en- suing ages have honoured him as a great saint. Nestorius, on the contrary, a victim to the hatred of his enemies, remamed all his life exposed to their persecutions, and his memory is still held in execration in the writings of ignorant priests. Nevertheles.s, the doctrines of Nestorius have victoriously traversed fourteen centuries, and his followers, under the name of Chal- deans, inhabit still Syria, Chaldea, Persia, and the coast of IMalabar, and have preserved their symbol, which difiers in nothing from that of the great Grecian church, but in the belief in two natures, distinct and separate, in Jesus Christ. The Nestorians of Malabar are better known as the Christians of Mark Thomas, a title which they acquire from the name of the apostle who converted their an- cestors. The Catholics, not willing to attri- bute to him the merit of these conversions, have changed the name of their missionary into that of St. Thomas, who, according to them, had travelled as far as India to preach their faith ] but it has been historically proved that Thomas lied from Constantinople to es- cape thn persecutions of the emperor Theo- dosius, th(! enemy of Nestorianism, and that he settled in that country. During the sixth century, the Chri.stian col- ony which he had settled "became of so much importance that frequent mention is made of it in the chronicles of Malabar. These Chal- deans reject a belief in the divine nature of Christ ; coiise(|uentlv, they do not call Mary the Mother of God, and deduce the Holy Spirit from the Father alone. They have but thi-ee sacraments, baptism, the eucharist and Vol. I. L ordination, and place m their churches no image but that of the cross. Their priests can marry, and in their ceremonies they still pre- serve the Chaldean or Syriac language. After the condemnation of Nestorius, the ambassadors of Celestin arrived at Ephesus, and subscribed, without examination, to the decrees of the council. The Pelagians were excommunicated in the same assembly. These unfortunates, whose heresy on the sub- ject of grace was no more real than the im- pious sentiments on the incarnation attributed to Nestorius. became the objects of public hatred. Prosper made an epitaph on Pela- gianism and Nestorianism, comparing them to two idolatrous females, mother aud daugh- ter, who should be buried in the same tomb. This triumph was but an illusion of pride, for the two sects which the council of Ephesus believed to be crushed by the same blow, have intinitely multiplied, traversed centuries, and exist even in our own day. Towards the end of this unfortunate year, 431, the pope wrote to the bishops of Gaul in defence of St. Augnastine, whose doctrines had been attacked by the priests of their dioceses. He addressed to them severe reproaches on their negligence, in not repressing this scan* dal. In what terms, then, would he have ex- pressed his indignation, if, by a prophetic spirit, he could have foreseen that one of his successors would one day reject, as impious and sacrilegious, the doctrine of St. Augustine. The letter of the pontiff, on the .subject of grace, contains nine articles, in which Jan- senism exhibits itself in all its purity, and without equivocation, so that if the Bull uni- genitits could have a retrospective effect, pope Celestin would hnd himself in heaven, excom- municated by Clement the Eleventh. The year 432 was marked by the death of St. Pallas, whom the pope had sent into Scot- land and Ireland to the apostolic mission of St. Patrick, and to preach the faith of Jesus Christ. This apostle introduced the use of letters among the Irish, who had not before any other literature than rythmical verses, composed by their bards and containing their history. Celestin died on the 6th of April, 432, after having governed the church of Koine for eight years. He was interred in the cemetery of Priscilla. This pope wrote in an earnest and succinct manner, but his style is sententious and con- fused. He is rc})roache(l with having been ambitious and fanatical, common defects with those who have occupied the pretemled seat of St. Peter. He jiersecuted the Novatians, took from them several churches, and com- pelled Rusticulus, their bishop, to hold liis meetings in a private house. This sect, es- tablished for a long period in Rome, had at- tracted the respect of the people by a holy morality anil regular morals. They possessed magnilicent churches, where an immense multitude of the faithful assembled.— Unfor- tunately for the Novatians, tneir jirosperity excited the jealous hatred of the popes, who 82 HISTORY OF THE POPES. were beginning to usurp an authority too ab- solute ; they no longer permitted their public assemblies, and whilst praising the purity of their faith, they deprived them of their wealth. The patriarchs of Constantinople did not imitate the bishops of Rome in their per- secution of the Novatians; on the contrary, they evidenced a great respect for their doc- trines, and permitted their assemblies in the capital of the empire. The dedication of the famous church of Julius is attributed to Celestin, who enriched it with superb vases of silver and gold, bought with the gifts of the faithful. SIXTUS THE THIRD, FORTY-SIXTH POPE. [A D. 432. — Valentinian the Third, and Theodosius the Second, Emperors.] Fanaticism of Sixtus before his pontificate — He persecutes the heretics — The emperor puts an erul to the quarrels of Cyril and John of Antioch — The pope is accused of having violated a sacred virgrn, and of having committed an incest — Sixtus poisons his accuser — Ambition of the popes — Death of Sixtus — He gives the church great riches^ torn from the unfortunate people. Sixtus, the third pope of that name, was an Italian by birth, and a priest of the church of Rome. During the pontiticate of Zozimus he had pursued the unfortunate Pelagians with mveteracy, and by his fanaticism had merited the title of maintainor of the faith. After his advent to the Holy See, Sixtus the Third, who united hypocrisy to intolerance, Avrote to St. Cyril to treat with John of Anti- och, whose powerful party was vigorously opposed to the decrees of the council of Ephesus. This prelate had assembled at Tarsus a new sjaiod, in which the fathers had deposed St. Cyril, Arcadius, the legate of the pope, and the other prelates, who had gone to Constantinople to ordain Maximian. The bishop of Alexandria, in conformity with the wishes of the pope, took steps towards a reconciliation, but they could not calm John of Antioch, who, immediately on his arrival at his metropolis, held a second synod, in which all the depositions of the first w^ere confirmed. The Orientals then wrote to The- odosius, to inform him that they detested the doctrines of Cyril, and to beseech him not to suffer them to be taught in the churches of the empire. The prince, worn out with the complaints of both parties*, and fearing that the schism with which the church was menaced would trouble the public tranquillity, wished to recon- cile John of Antioch and St. Cyril. He flat- tered the ambition and pride of these two prelates, and terminated their disputes to the satisfaction of all of the enemies of the unfor- tunate Nestorians. The illustrious old man preserved; however, some friends, who boldly condemned the treason of John of Antioch. This triumph of Sixtus the Third was not of long duration. He was soon after accused by Bassus, a commendable priest, and of distin- guished birth, of having committed an incest, and introduced himself into a convent, to vio- late a religious woman, named Chrysogonia. The accusation becoming public, appeared atrocious, and caused so great a scandal that Valentinian, emperor of the West, was obliged to convoke a council, at wdiich assembled fifty-six bishops, to examine into the conduct of the pope. The gold of the holy father cor- rupted the judges, and the assembly declared that the crimes not having been established by material proof, the accuser should be con- demned. In consequence of this judgment, the emperor and empress Placidia, his mother, proscribed Bassus and confiscated all his goods to the church. Three months after the sentence the priest died of poison ! Historians add, that the pon- tiff, covering liimself with the hypocritical veil of religion, assisted himself during his sickness, administered to him the holy sacra- ment, and wished, after his death, to place him in his shroud with his own hands, in order to conceal the dead body disfigiired by poison. The priests, on the other hand, affirm that Sixtus came forth from this accusation pure as gold from the furnace, and that it served to augTnent the favourable opinion en- tertained by the people of the holiness of the pontiff. Church history leaves a void of some )^ears in its recital of the actions of Sixtus, and we cannot undeitake to draw them from the pro- found oblivion in which they are buried. We only know that he maintained the jurisdiction of his See over Illyria, and that he confirmed the sentence of Iddiuus, condemned by Pro- clus. At this period the bishops of Asia re- fused to recognize the jurisdiction of the Pa- triarch of Constantinople, or rather the dou- ble dealhigpriests, well knowing the ambition of the popes, disobeyed the judgment of their legitimate superiors, in order to carry their causes to Rome ; where their complaints, no matter how unjust, would be favourably re- ceived, provided they favoured the policy of usurpation pursued by the Holy See. Julian of Eclana, the famous defender of Pelagius. worn out by the persecution which the hatred of the priests of the East constantly excited against him, came to make his sub- mission to the pontiff, and dt^manded per- mission to retake possession of his see ; but HISTORY OF THE POPES. 83 Sixtus, after having consulted with the arch- deacon Leo, the most important person in the church, and whom we shall soon see suc- ceed him. sharply repulsed the proposals of Julian, and commenced a new persecution against the unfortunate Pelagians. Pope Sixtus died soon after, on the 28th of March, 420, having held the Holy See about eight years. He was buried on the road to Tibur. near to St. Lawrence. During his pontilicate he rebuilt the church of St. Mary, placed in the interior an altar of silver, weighing three hundred pounds, g-ave to it many vases of silver, weighing eleven hundred and sixty-five pounds, a vase of gold, of fifty pounds, and twenty-four chan- deliers of copper, and he appropriated for the support of this church, in houses and lands, a revenue of seven hundred and t\venty-nine sous of gold. He gave to the baptistery of St. Mary vases of silver, and a stag, from whence flowed the water, of thirty pounds weight. He adorned the confessional of St. Peter with ornaments of silver, weighing four hundred pounds, and that of !^t. Lawrence with balus- trades of porphyry. He placed upon the altar columns of massive silver, weighing four hundred pounds, sustaining a silver arch, .sur- mounted by a statue of St. Lawrence in mas- sive gold, weighing two hundred pounds. The church of the saint was encumbered with vases of silver and gold, adorned with pearls and precious stones. St. SLxtus had equally ornamented the baptistery of the Lateran with columns of porphyry, and upon the marble architecture he caused verses to be sculptured, which pointed out the virtues of baptism and the faith of original sin. In fine, this pontiff gave to the churches, during his life more than two thousand six hnndred and eleven pounds weight of gold and silver, which he had extracted from the faithful by means of alms and testaments. LEO THE FIRST, FORTY-SEVENTH POPE. [A. D. 440. — Valentinian the Third, and Theodosius the Second, Emperors.] Birth of Leo — He excommunicates bigamist bishops — Laws in favour of celibacy — Ravages of Genseric in Italy — Persecutions of the Manicheans — The pope accuses them falsely — Leo attacks the Pelagians — He wishes to extend his rule over Illyria — Death of St. Cyril — Cru-el punishment of Priscillian in Spain — St. Martin, bishop of Tovrs, condemns the intolerance of the pope — Leo encovrages the fanaticism of the emperor against the heretics — Eutyches — his doctrine — his condemnation — The pope sustains the heresy — General council of Ephesus — Eutyches is absolved — The pope excommunicated — He demands from the emperor a general council — Exploits of Attila — Leo arrests his career — Miracle of the holy father — Quarrel between the patriarch of Constantinople and Leo — Rome sacked by Genseric — The pope prohi- bits any one from taking the veil under forty — Fasts established by St. Leo — History of the bloody hand — Death of the pope. Leo was bom at Rome towards the end of the reign of Theodosius the Great ; his father's name was Quiiitiaii. Authors are silent in regard to his birth, and Leo first appears in history on the occasion of a violent quarrel which had broken out between Aetius and Albin, the leaders of the Roman annies sent into(iaul to repulse the barbarians, who threat- ened the frontiers. The misunderstanding b(!tween these generals might have brought about the greatest disasters, and perhaps the ruin of the empire. Leo, sent by the pontiff to negotiate an agreement between the two armies, happily terminated this difiicult nego- tiation, and reconciled Aetius and Albin, who reunited their forces against the barbarians. The ambassador was still at the camp when Sixtus died, and though absent, he was unan- imously elected chief of the church, and a deputation brought to him the amiouncement of this gooil news. Arriv('natus of Salicina. who had abjured with his people the heresy of the Novatians, and Maximus, a J)o- natist convert, who had been ordained bishop without having received orders ; but he sur- rendered to the judgment of the prelates of the provinces Aggar and Tiberieii, who had been consecrated in consequence of revolts, reserving, nevertheless, to himself the revi- 84 HISTORY OF THE POPES. sion of the process and the right of final de- cision. St. Leo judged the nuns innocent who had been violated when their convents were pil- laged by the Arabs, counselling them, never- theless, not to compare themselves with those who still had then- virginity, and advising them to mourn for the residue of their lives over the irreparable loss they had sustained.. He then wrote to Rusticus, bishop of Nar- bonne, to prohibit him from exposing to pub- lic penitence a priest who had been found g-uilty of enormous crimes, adding that it was his duty to conceal the faults of the clergy, in order to shun a scandal which might bring dishonour on the church. In a decree which he made at the begin- ning of the year 442, the holy father ordered mere priests to follow the same law as the bishops, in regard to continence ; that is, he enjoined them to keep their wives, without having any intimate connection with them. The deacons refused to submit to the observ- ance of this strange decree ; and it was later, and by employing the greatest circumspec- tion, that the pontiffs were able to make the laws of celibacy acceptable ini the West. In the East they were equally disappointed. In another bull the pope established this invidious proposition, that a clergyman could give his daughter to a man living in concu- binage, without incurring the ecclesiastical censure, as if he gave her to a married man ; because, adds the holy father, concubines are not legitimate wives, and the daughters do not sin in yielding themselves to their hus- bands. The last article of this bull concerns the faithful who had been prisoners among the pagans, and who had lived like them. He permitted the bishops to purify them by fasting and the imposition of hands, in case they had only eaten of the sacrificial food ; but he ordered that, like homicides and adul- terers, they should submit to public penance, if they had adored the idols. During the year 443, Genseric, after having ravaged the provinces of the empire, and es- tablished his dominion in Africa, made a de- scent on Sicily, where, at the instigation of Maximian, chief of the Arians, he cruelly persecuted the orthodox. In the peril in which the church was placed, St. Augustine thought it was his duty to abandon his dio- cese, to go to Rome to combat the Arians. He, by chance, took up his residence in the house of a Manichean, which sect was then making great progress, and had increased very considerably from the Africans, who had taken refuge in Italy after the destruction of Carthage by the king of the Vandals. St. Augustine, betraying the duties of hospi- tality, discovered to Leo the places of meet- ing of this new sect, and pretended that the Manicheans were the authors of the corrup- tions which were glidinc: into his flock. Then the holy father warned the faithful in his ser- mons that they ought not only to guard against these dangerous heretics, but to denounce them; and he pointed out the means of recog- nizing them. He accused them of fasting on Sunday, in honor of the sun, and on Monday in that of the moon ; he affirmed that they received the communion in only one knid, that of bread, regarding wine as the produc- tion of an evil principle. After having rendered them execrable in the eyes of the people, the pope Leo ordered the strictest search to be made for them in the city; he prohibited their secret assem- blies, ordered the books which contained their doctrine to be seized, and burned them publicly in the square in front of the church of St. Peter. Then, in order to increase the horror he was desirous of inspiring against these unfortunates, he held a synod, com- posed of the neighbouring bishops, to whom he added the principal members of the clergy, the senate, the nobility and the people, and in the presence of this assembly several Ma- nicheans and one of their bishops, seduced by the money of the pontifi, made a public con- fession of the abominable acts of lewdness of which they had been guilty. But the testi- mony of these cowardly apostates will appear always suspicious to conscientious minds, who desire to judge with impartiality; and we know by recent examples in religion, as well as in politics, that zeal, or the fear of tortures, induce new converts to calumniate their breth- ren, frequently to persecute them. The pope, not being yet satisfied, excited the magistrates to exterminate the Manicheans, and was constrained in his cruel pursuits by the imperial laws. Valentinian the Third published an edict, in which he confirmed and renewed all the ordinances of his prede- cessors against these sectaries, declaring them to be infamous, incapable of exercising any charge, of carrying arms, of bearing testi- mony, of contracting or doing any lawful act in civil society, prohibiting all the subjects of the empire from afibrding them an asylum, and ordaining that, when denounced, they should be punished according to the rigour of the laws. Thirteen centuries later will produce an- other execrable example, in the person of Louis the Fourteenth, authorising persecu- tions against the Protestants. Many bishops of the East and West, at the instigation of the pontiff, proceeded with equal zeal against the Manicheans in their dioceses. Thanks to these violent remedies, Rome was soon purged of this heresy, and Leo could turn his arms against Pelagianism, which Julian of Eclana, his implacable foe, favoured in Campania and Italy ; but not wishing to engage in theological discussions in which he feared a failure, it appeared to him more certain to excite the bishops against the Pelagians, and put in force the cruel ordinances of the emperors. During the course of the same year, Leo gave a new proof of his excessive ambition. The emperors, in the division of Illyria, had taken aAvay from the popes the jurisdiction of primacy, which they claimed over that province. In spite of the prohibition of the HISTORY OF THE POPES. 85 sovereign, the holy father established in Illyria, as vicar for his see, Anastasius, bishop of Thessalouica. It is true, that in this trans- action, he had to displaj- all his political skill, and that he was obliged to write to the pre- fects of the East letters of condescension to excuse his conduct. Experience had taught the pontitfs that they could more easily bend to then- will the bishops of the West than those of the East, who knew how to maintain themselves in possession of their privileges; and prudence advised them to show, in their intercourse with them, great address. Leo showed no regard for the decisions of the prelates of Gaul, and imperiously ordered them to submit to the will of the court of Rome. St. Hilarius, and St. Germain of Auxerre, having been charged by the prince to reform the abuses which had been introduced into some provinces of Gaul, went to Vienne to receive the complaints of the people and the nobles, who accused Celidonius, their bishop, of rape and murder, and of having linally married a woman whose husband he had caused to be assassinated. These two prelates ordered the witnesses to assemble, and convened several ecclesias- tics, of great merit, to examine into this affair. The accusation having been proved, they decided, according to the rules of scrip- ture, that Celidonius himself should renounce the episcopate. The condemned bishop ap- pealed to Rome from this sentence, and was listened to with favour by the pontiff. St. Hi- larius, in order to avoid scandal, went himself to Italy, to beseech Leo to maintain the dis- cipline of the churches. He represented to him, with great wisdom, that it was neces- sary for the Holy See to renounce its preten- sions of elevating to ecclesiastical functions bishops deposed in Gaul b)' the orders of the magistates. '-I am come, holy father," added he, " to render you my duty, and not to plead my cause ; I advise you of that which has passed, not in form of accusation, but in simple recital ; if your opinion differs from mine, I shall urge it no more, and will follow up before the prince the deposition of the guilty." Tlu! pope, through ambition for the prerog- ative of his see, not only repulsed the demand of St. Hilarius, but gave orders to his guards to retain him as a prisoner, being desirous of constraining him to justify himself before the council which he had convoked. Fortu- nate!}^, the prelate was enabled to deceive the spies of the holy father, sallied secretly from Rome, and returned to his church. Leo, furious at seeing his prisoner escape him. caused him to be excommunicated by his council, and reinstated Celidonius in all his rights. The synod, it is true, was composed of his slaves ; that is to say, of bi.'^hops con- tiguous to Rome. With such people, add historians, the pontiff would have been ena- bled to condemn the apostles, and Jesus Christ himself. The emperor, Valentinian the Third, lending himself to the vengeance of Leo, had the weakness to give an order, addressed to the patrician Aetms, who com- manded the troops in Gaul, ordering him to imprison, as a traitor and seditious person, the holy shepherd of the city of Aries. This act of despotism was a mortal blow to the liberty of the French churches, and its ecclesiastical affairs, which had before been judged by national synods, were, from that time, carried before the bi.shop of Rome. St. Cyril, one of the most violent persecu- tors of the Novatians, died on the 9th of June, in this same year, after having governed the church of Alexandria for thirty-two years. He had designated as his successor the bishop Diosconus. In spite of the vigilance of the pope, the heresy of the Priscillianists continued to make the most surprising progress in Spain and Gaul. These sectarians were but a continuation of the Gnostics, and by the accounts of their enemies, were subdivided into many fractions, distinct from each other, and having each their particular belief. Thus, the Massalians did not believe that the sacraments were at all elTficacious in driving away demons, and maintained that the only mode of exorcising the faithful possessed with evil spirits, was to sneeze, in order that the demons might be expelled with the discharge. The Sethians, or Ophites, placed the serpent before Christ, and adored him for having taught man the knowledge of good and evil. The Adamites taught a community of women, because, according to them, promiscuity was the true mystical community of the Christian. The Cainites honoured Cain, as the one who had taught men to labour, and regarded the murder of Abel as an allegorj', signifying that people could destroy the idle, who were a charge on society. They venerated the memory of Judas, because this apostle, by betraying Christ, had saved the world from universal damnation. They believed that every sin had a guardian angel, who presided over its accomplishment, and they detested chaste men, as beings without force or energy; finally, they invoked, in their prayers, the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all the Hebrews of the Old Testament, who had been signalized for their impiety. How great soever may be the trust reposed by priests in the assertions of the fathers of the church, those among the ecclesiastics who have written u]ion this heresy, have not been able to avoid doubting the exactitude of the statements of St. Epiphanus on the dif- ferent sects of the Priscillianists or Gnostics; and if they do not accuse him of having wished to calumniate them, in order to in- crease the number of their enemies, at least they reproach him for having shown himself too credulous in adopting the popular fables invented against them by ignorance or hatred. St. Ireneus and St. Clement of Alexandria, themselves, refn.sed to believe in their alleged turpitude, and accused them only of an affec- tation of too great purity and chastity. 86 HISTORY OF THE POPES. The monks, the docile instraments of the fanaticism of Leo, after havnig brought before the prefect Evodus, atrocious accusations against the venerable Priscillian, demanded that he should be incarcerated in one of their prisons, and submitted to the most terrible proofs. The unfortunate heretic was bound with cords and chains : then the priest commenced the interrogatory : — " Abjure thy errors, Priscillian ] submit thyself to the sovereign pontiff of Kome." The sufferer refusing to reply, the execu- tioners made his limbs to crack under the pressure of his chains, and plunged both his feet into a heated brazier. "Abjure thy errors, Priscillian, and glorify Leo, the father of the faithful." Priscillian, during this horrible suffering, addressed his prayers to God, and refused still to glorify the pope. Then the monk charged with the execution gave the orders to the executioners to com- mence the punishment. They tore from him his hair and the skin of his skull, they burned with hot iron all parts of his body, and poured upon his wounds boiling oil and melted lead, and at last plunged into his entrails a rod heated in the fire ; and this martyr expired, after two hours of frightful suffering. Leo still pursued the residue of the sect, and abandoned them to the implacable hatred of the priests. Their vengeance not being satislied by the condemnation of Priscillian, they soon abused their credit and the favour of the court, by persecuting people of wealth. It was enough to be suspected of fasting and loving a quiet retreat, and the greatest crimes then were to be wise and honoured. Citizens who had displeased the clergy were accused of Priscillianism, especially when their death might be agreeable to the prince, or their riches could fill the treasury of the holy father. St. Martin, bishop of Tours, loudly con- demned the intolerance of the pontiff, who, under the cloak of religion, sought to gratify his ambition and avarice by sacrificing the quiet of the people. At first, he refused to communicate with the bishops of Spain, who had executed the orders of Leo ; but in the end, fatigued by their protestations, he per- mitted them to extort an act of communion from him. He was much afflicted, in conse- quence of it, during the rest of his life, and was persuaded that this act had hindered the grace of miracles from shining forth in his person. The pope not only dared to glorify himself for having ordered the punishment of Pris- cillian, but he even wrote to Maximus, to de- mand from him his assistance to extend the nriassacres through all the provinces of the empire ; he expressed himself in these terms, ^•My lord, the rigor and severity of your justice against this heretic and his disciples have been of great aid to the clemency of the church. We have heretofore been content with the mildness of the judgments which the bishops delivered in accordance with the canons, and we did not desire bloody execu- tions ; now, however, we have learned that it is necessary to be aided and sustained by the severe constitutions of the emperors — for the fear of religious punishment frequently makes heretics recur to a spiritual remedy, which can cure their souls from a mortal malady by a true conversion." This impious pope, thus separating himself from the tolerant precepts of Christianity, endeavored to extirpate heresies by the most violent means. Soon the affair of Eutyches gave the world a new proof of the cruelty of Leo, and shovi-ed the ridiculous spectacle of a pretended heresy, against which the East and the West were up, without knowing the dogmas which would encounter the anathemas of the Holy See. Eutyches, a priest and abbot of a great convent of three hundred monks, near Con- stantinople, had written to the pope to inform him that Nestoiianism was recovering new strength, under the protection which the pa- trician, Flavian, granted to it. Leo approved of his zeal, and encouraged him to pursue the heretics. Domnus of Antioch wrote, in his turn, to the emperor Theodosius, and accused him of renewing the heresy of Appolinarius, by maintaining that the divinity of the Sou of God, and his humanity, were but one na- ture, and attributed his sufferings to his divinity. This heresy was founded on the consequences drawn from the terms of Euty- ches, which did not differ from the orthodox opinions but in the mode of interpreting them. He recogirized, in fact, two natures in Jesus Christ, but he maintained that it was better to explain the mystery of the incarnation by saying that there existed but a single nature ; because Jesus Christ was at once God and man. Those who declared against this sen- timent spoke of those two natures as if they had been separate, and the pretended heretic was condemned, because he was not under- stood, or because they refused to understand him. The Eastern prelates assembled in coun- cil at Constantinople, to judge Eutyches, and pronounced a sentence of excommunication, which does not inspire a great respect for the abilities of the fathers who composed the synod. He, believing himself inijustly con- demned, wrote to the pope, '• I beseech you, holy father, to decide upon the faith, and not permit the decree which has been ordained against me by a cabal to be executed . Have pity on an old man, who has lived sixty-five years in continence, in the exercise of piety, and whom they drive from his retreat." The emjieror Theodosius, who favoured Eutyches, wrote at the same time to the pontiff on the troubles which were agitating the church at Constantinople. These letters, which flattered the ambition of Leo, already at variance with Flavian of Constantinople, sufficed to engage him to undertake the defence of Eutyches. He thus HISTORY OF THE POPES. 87 wrote to Flavian, '•' I am astonished, my brother, that you have sent me no iiilormation of the scandal which troubles the church, and of which you should have been the lirst to advise me. We have read the expose of the doctrine of Eutyches, and we do not see for what motive you have separated him from the communion of the faithful. Never- theless, as we desire to be impaitial in our judgments, we will make no decision without [ understanding, perfectly, the reasons alleged | by both parties. Send us, then, a relation of all that has passed, and teach us what new I error has sprung up against the faith, that we may be able, in accordance with the will of ! the emperor, to put an end to the division — } and this we shall be easily enabled to do, since the priest Eutyches has declared that if we should lind any thing reprehensible in I his doctrine, he was ready to correct it." | Some days after the receipt of the letters j of the pope, a new council was held at Con- ] stantinopie, to revise the hrst judgment. The emperor wished the patrician Florentin to represent him in this assembly, in order to prevent the hatred of theologians from op- pressing innocence ■ as he learned that his precautions were powerless, he transferred the council to Ephesus. The pope, and Flavian of Constantinople, who had been reconciled, fearing to lose their influence over the fathers, used their efforts to engage the emperor to countermand his last orders. But all their endeavours were useless. Leo, unwilling to go to Ephesus, contented himself with sending, as his legates, Julius, bishop of Pouzzola : Rene, a priest of the order of St. Clement; Hilarius, a deacon ; and Dulcitius. a notary. When all the fathers convoked by the em- peror were assembled at Ephesus, the open- ing of the council was fixed for the 8th of August. Dioscorus, the successor of St. Cyril in the government of the church of Alexandria, was named president of the as- sembly. The sentence of deposition pro- nounced against ICutychcs in the council of Constantinople, was declared null by the fathers; they re-established the venerable abbot at the head of his monastery, and ren- dered him entire justice, as to the purity of his faith and the sanctity of his morals. His accusers, Flavian, and Eusebius, bishop of Dorylea, were condemned and deposed, de- spite of the opposition of Hilarius, the deacon of the Roman church, who sj^oke in the name of the pope ; and de.spite of the efforts of sev- eral bishops, who evinced a strong attach- ment to the interests of Flavian. Alter the council, l)io.scoius even pro- nounced a .sentence of condemnation against pope Leo, as a punishment for his pride and despotism. The emperor Theodosius con- lirmed, by an edict, the second council of Ephesus, and prohibited new sees being given to bishops who should sustain the he- resy of N(?storius and Flavian. In the interval, Leo received a letter from the bishops of the province of Vienne, which advised him of the election of Ravennius to the archbishopric of Aries, v hich shows that they did not wait for the consent of tht; holy father to consecrate a bishop, and that they advised him of their elections ior the sole purpose of maintaining the bonds of fraternal union. The pope was still ignorant of what was passing in the Ea.st, from whence he had re- ceived no news. He wrote then to Flavian, to testify his incjuietude. Some time after, the deacon Hilarius, having returned to Rome, advised the holy father of the great outrages which had been committed against his see by the council of Ephesus. Leo, transported with rage, immediately convoked the bishops of Italy to a synod, and, in his turn, excom- municated the fathers of Ephesus; then he wrote several syiiodical letters against Euty- ches. and demanded at once from the empe- ror authority to preside over a general council. After the death of Theodosius, the empress Pulcheria, seconding the pontiff in his desire to draw down vengeance on Eutyches and his friends, ordered the patriarch Anatolius, who had been placed in the see of Constantinople in the stead of Flavian, to embrace the party of Rome, and to merit the affection of the pope, if he wished to preserve his bishopric. Anatolius, intimidated by this threat, assem- bled a council, to which he invited the legTites of the pontiir. to take cognizance of the famous letter of Leo to Flavian. The fathers of the new council declared that they entirely ap- proved of its contents. Then Anatolius pro- nounced an anathema against Nestorius and Eutyches, condemned their doctrine, and by this unjust sentence, merited to be received as the legitimate bishop of Constantinople. Political affairs were in as deplorable a state as ecclesisastical. The redoubtable Attila, the king of the Huns, after having re- duced to ashes the city of Aquileia, and ravaged all the country over w hich he passed, caused all Italy to tremble. Pavia even, and Milan, those two great cities, could not resist the efforts of his victorious arms?, and had become the frightful theatre of all the dis- orders of war. This new distress caused the greatest con- sternation at Rome. The Senate as.sembled to deliberate whether the emperor should quit Ital}', since it appeared to be impossible to defend the capital agTiinst the deluge of barbarians who seemed to have inundated the empire. In this extremity, they resolved to try the effect of negotiations, and sent to Attila a pompous embassy, with pope Leo, whose persuasive eloquence they wvU knew, at its head. The pontiff siillied from the city with an imposing cortege to meet this re- doubtable enemv, and when he was near the tent of Attila, be astonished him with the solemn chants of the church, and humbly prostrated himself before the majesty of the barbarian chief; then the conferences com- menced. The cluonicles relate that the king of the Huns was so struck by this strange spectacle, that he submitted to every thing 88 HISTORY OF THE POPES. Leo demanded, as to orders from Heaven ; that he consented to peace, and retired with his armies beyond the Danube. Some histo- rians even add, that the Hunnish chieftains having openly expressed their contempt for their prince, who had honoured the pope by obeying him even as a slave, he, to justify him- self aliirrned, that he had seen in a dream a venerable old man, holding in his hand a drawn sword, who menaced him with death if he did not conform to the orders of Leo. This story was formerly found in the Bre- viary of Paris. During the seventeenth cen- tury, one of our most learned archbishops has suppressed it, as well as other grosser fables which it contained. The true motive for the retreat of Attila was the desire of possessing the gold which the pope made to glitter be- fore his eyes ) an unpardonable fault for a conqueror at the head of victorious troops, and especially for an Attila, the scourge of God, the enemy of the human race, whose look filled the bravest with fear, and at whose name nations trembled. Leo, who had disarmed the invincible king of the Huns, could not, nevertheless, conquer Anatolius, the patriarch of Constantinople, who, not having need to preserve any address with him, wished to extend his sway over the Eastern churches, and imitated the pope, who had alreatly made his authority felt in the churches of the West. In order to humiliate the bishops of Rome, Anatolius favoured the partizans of Eutyches and Dioscorus, and repulsed the friends of the holy father ; the latter complained to the em- peror Marcian and the empress Pulcheria; but the emperor, who desired to maintain peace in the church, refused to give any satisfaction to either of the two parties, and forced them to feign an official recon- ciliation. The pope was charged, during the follow- ing year, with an important embassy, which resulted deplorably, and in which his elo- quence did not produce a second miracle. The empress Eudoxia, after the death of Valentinian the Third, had been forced to espouse Maximus, the usurper of the throne and the assassin of her husband. As the princess refused to .yield to the desires of this monster, he had the barbarity to order his soldiers to bind her with cords, and to strip from her her garments, that he might be ena- bled to glut his brutal passion. Eudoxia, outraged by this horrid violence, secretly demanded assistance from the king of the Vandals. Genseric seized upon the pretext, disembarked in Italy, and marched towards Rome, whose gates were opened to him by treason. St. Leo, seeing his flock exposed to the vengeance of the Arians, cast himself at the feet of the king of the Vandals, and entreated him to spare the holy city. AH his endea- vours failed before the obstinacy of Genseric ] Rome was delivered up to pillage during fourteen days, and the inhabitants had only the liberty of retiring with their families into three churches, which served for an asylum, and where there was no bloodshed. The king then returned to his vessels, which were filled with booty, taking with him the empress Eudoxia and her two daughters, whom he treated with distinction. Tfiis prince was not as cruel as ecclesiastical historians maintain ; and the faults with which they reproach him were the inevitable conse- quences of supreme power. We shall find actions much more condemnable in the lives of monarchs whose memory is venerated in the church. After the death of the emperor Marcien, the party of Eutyches made great efibrts in the East to obtain the protection of his suc- cessor, surnamed Macellus ; but tlie pontiff, who had aided by his cabals and intrigues in placing him on the throne, so preserved his credit at court as to repress the enemies of the church, and maintain the authority of the Holy See. Leo then occupied himself with ruling several points of discipline on the subject of the inhabitants of the city of Aquileia, who had been carried away prisoners by Attila. During their captivity, the faithful had eaten impure food and consented to receive neAV baptism ; others, on their return, had found their wives married. Nicetas, bishop of Aquileia, having consulted St. Leo in cases of conscience, the pope replied in the fol- lowing decretal : — He orders women who have contracted new unions, in the uncertainty as to the existence of their husbands, to return to them, under pain of excommunication, and excuses the second husbands. He condemns to public penitence those whom fear or hun- ger had induced to eat unclean food, and orders those who had been re-baptised, to reconcile themselves with the church by the imposition of the hands of the bishop. In another decretal, Leo prohibits virgins from receiving the solemn benediction and the veil until they had been tried to the age of forty. It is believed that it was at his solicitation that the emperor Magorian passed a law against parents forcing their daughters to consecrate themselves to God ; the same law blames, severely, widows who, not having children, renounce a second marriage, through libertinage, and not virtue. The church owes to this holy father the establishment of four solemn fasts during the year, to wit : Lent, Pentecost — the fasts of the seventh and the tenth months. Legends fix at this period the origin of " Rogations," which were first celebrated in Dauphinj", and in the end adopted by the churches of all countries. Mamers, bishop of Vienne, was the inventor of this superstitious practice, which, according to the priests, has the power of bending Divine Justice, arresting earth- quakes, fires, and other scourges which deso- late nations. Authors relate a singular anecdote in regard to the custom of kissing the foot of the pope. A woman of remarkable beauty had been admitted, they say, on Easter day HISTORY OF THE POPES. 89 to kiss the hand of the pontifT; when she was near to Leo, his holiness felt the flesh revolt- ing ag-aiiist the spirit, and he desired to possess the beautiful penitent. But, almost immediately after the commission of the crime, repentance took possession of his soul, and he cut oii the hand which hail caused this mark of weakness. This mutilation pre- venting the holy father from celebrating mass, the people began to murmur ; then Leo addressed fervent prayers to God for the res- toration of his hand, which was granted him on condition he would change the custom of giving the hand to kiss, and that he would introduce the practice of presenting the feet of the pontiff for the adoration of the faithful. Thus does the legend relate the miracle of the bloody hand ! ! St. Leo held his see twenty-one years, and died on the 11th of April, in the year 461, the day fixed in honour of his memory in the church. HILARIUS, THE FORTY-EIGHTH POPE. [A. D. 461. — Leo the First, Severus, and Anthemius, Emperors.] Birth of Hilarius — The affair of Hermes, bishop of Bezicrs — He persecutes St. Mamers- Violcnce of the pontiff — He extends his sway over Gaul and Spain — Intolerance of the pope- His death — Character of his pontificate . Hilarius was a Sardinian, and the son of Crispinus. Nothing is known of his educa- tion, nor of the private acts of his life, before his arrival at the pontificate. History truly speaks of his embassy to the council of Ephesus, where he had been sent by Leo, to sustain the rights of the bishop of Rome. The old scandal of appeals to Rome was renewed in the first year of his reign. A man named Hermes had, by means of intrig-ue, been ordained bishop of Beziers, in opposition to the wishes of its inhabitants, who did not want him, on account of the crimes of his past life, which rendered him unworthy of the episcopate ; but the new prelate having addressed himself to the court of Rome, the pontiff wrote to Leo of Aries, to obtain from him a report on the morals and conduct of Hermes, in order to interpose his judgment in the affair. Then, without even waiting for the reply of Leo, he assembled a council, and confumed Hermes in his bishopric, prohibiting him, however, from ordaining priests. St. Mamers, bishop of Vienne, celebrated through all Gaul for nis piety, acquired new glory from a persecution he endured from the pontiff on the following account. An ambi- tious priest had carried complaints to Rome against INIamers, who, having repelled his pretensions to the bishopric of Dia, had given the see to a venerable old man. In it, he was sustained by Leo of Aries and the synod of the province, who ha.stened to inform the pope that the act of Mamers was just and equitable ; but Hilarius, desirous of augment- ing the power which his predecessor had arroo-ated to him.self in Gaul, on this occasion broke through the bounds of equity. He called the act of Mamers an unpardonable outrage : he accused him of pride, presump- tion, and prevarication ; he threatened even to take from him his privileges if he should persevere in the just exercise of his rights; and he even charged bishop Veranus to exe- cute his orders, as the delegate of the Holy See. Vol. I. M Mamers repelled these attacks of the pon- tiff with dignity and moderation; he refuted the accusations of his enemies, and declared that he would maintain the rights of his church. The cardinal Baronius himself, when speaking of this scandalous dispute, says, " Do not be astonished if the pope acted with too much vehemence ad to what a degree of audacity the Roman pontiff had already arrived : " There are two powers,"' said he, '-'who have sovereign rule over the world ; the spiritual and the temporal authority; the sacred authority of the bishops is so much the greater, as on the day of judgment tliey must render an account of the actions of kings. You know, magnanimous emperor, that your dignity surpasses that of other ininces of the earth; nevertheless you are obliged to submit to the power of the ministers in sacred things, for it is to them you address yourself to know what are the sources of your safety, and the rules which you ought to follow in receiving the sacraments, and in disposing of religious things. " The bishops persuade the people that God has given you a sovereign power over 94 HISTORY OF THE POPES. temporal things, and they cause them to sub- mit to your laws. In return you should obey; with entire submission, those who are destined to distribute to you the holy sacra- ments. If the faithful ought blindly to follow the orders of bishops who acquit themselves worthily in their functions, so much the more ought they to receive the decree of the pontiff of Home, whom God has established as the first of his bishops, and whom the church has always recognized as its supreme chief." This letter, a master-piece of pride, hypo- crisy, and impudence, is a lesson for those who shall meditate on the causes of the tyranny of priests and kings. Gelasius, always pushed on by his ambition, ■wished to extend his authority over all Chris- tian countries, and convoli:ed at Rome a council of seventy bishops, to establish, as is alleged, the distinction between the authentic books and the apocryphal books. The Protestants deny the existence of the pretended decree, which was rendered in this council: "At least." says one of their famous authors, " it was not known until the middle of the ninth century, and we are surprised to see that in this decree of Gelasius, there is no mention made of but one book of Esdras. and one book of the Maccabees. In many manuscripts, the book of Job even, has been omitted ; and in others, the two books of the Maccabees have been entirely suppressed." Fleury, who has written at length upon this decree, has been compelled to speak of these contradictions, to afford a proof of his fidelity and correct- ness. John, bishop of Ravenna, having advised the pope of the deplorable state in which many churches of Italy were, who were des- titute of pastors, Gelasius wrote to the pre- lates of Lucania, to the bishops of the Bru- tians, and to those of Sicily, authorizing them to confer the sacred orders on monks who had not committed crimes, or who had not been twice married. The holy father recommends not to admit laymen into the ranks of the clergy, until after they have been examined with the greatest care, in order that they should not bestow the sacred orders on vicious men. He prohibits bishops from dedicating newly built churches, without permission from the Holy See, and forbids them from exacting from the faithful, pay, for conferring baptism or con- firmation, and especially from not demanding money from heretics newly converted. Gelasius also recommends to priests not. to exalt themselves above their rank ; not to bless the holy oil ; not to confirm, and not to discharge any sacred function in the presence' of a bishop. He reminds them that they should not sit down, or celebrate mass in the presence of a bishop, without his permission; and that priests could not ordain sub-deacons. He proscribed, also, to the deacons, to keep themselves within the bounds of their min- istry, prohibiting them from discharging the functions appertaining to priests, or even from baptizingj but in cases of necessity. He adds, that deacons, not being of the rank of priests, ought not to distribute to the faithful the con- secrated bread and w'ine. The holy father prohibited from baptizing, except during the festival of Easter, and at Pentecost, unless he on whom the baptism was to be conferred should be in danger of dying. He wished virgnis to take the veil on the day of the Epiphany, at Easter, or at the festival of the apostles. He regards w'idows as unworthy of being consecrated to Jesus Christ, and refuses them admission into mo- nasteries. He condemns ecclesiastics ordained for mo- ney to be driven from the ranks of the clergy, and submits to public penitence, for the rest of their lives, those who had been convicted of entertaining criminal connection with the virgins consecrated to God. The pontiff does not impose any penance on widows who had married after having made a profession of celibacy ; but desires that they should be publicly reproached with the fault they had committed. In conclusion, he blames severely the custom which existed in the churches, of having the mass served by females. The pontiff also treats of the question of the property of the church. He orders it to be divided into four parts : one for the bishop, one for the priests, one for the poor, and one for the building; prohibiting the bishop from diminishing at all the part reserved for the clergy, or the clergy from taking any of that of the bishops. '■ The prelate," says he, "ought faithfully to employ the part destined for the building of the church, without turning any of it to his own profit. In regard to the portion of the poor, he will one day render an account to God, if he has not faithfully per- formed his duties upon earth." This decretal appears to have been the re- sult of the last council of which we have spoken. The pope then wrote to the bishops of Dardania, to convince them that the judg- ment of the Holy See against the famous pa- triarch of Constantinople, was a confirmation of the council of Chalcedon; and the fathers having condemned the Eutychians, had con- sequently excommunicated, through future ages, those who favoured these heretics. We would relate among the honoiirable actions of the pontiff, his courageous opposi- tion to the senators of Rome, who wished to re-establish the infamous fete of the Luper- cals, during which the priests of the god Pan ran naked through the city, striking with thongs of goat skin, women who pressed for- ward to meet them, believing that these blows would render them fruitful. Gelasius pro- hibited a superstition so criminal from being renewed in the midst of Christianity ; and as the Romans attributed the public misfortunes and the maladies which desolated the city, to the suppression of the fete, he wrote a work, to show them the ridiculous nature of the fanaticism. This waiting still exists, under the title of "A discourse against Andro- mache." 1,1th ofrnt^Kcri-A'dman. fhUai/ ' Cflnitift 1^^ iluii^oflkcfvauks. 96 HISTORY OF THE POPES. ings ; the church was lit by the brilliant glare of several thousand perfumed tapers, and the baptistery tilled with aromatic perfumes, ex- haled the most delicious odours. Young virgins and beautiful youths, crowned with flowers, carried the Sacred Writings, the cross, and the banners, whilst the prelate, holding Clovis by the hand, entered the sanctuary, followed by queen Clotilda and the leaders of the Frank army. At the moment when St. Remi poured the consecrated water on the head of the new Christian, he pronounced these words, '■' Bow thy head proud Sicamberj henceforth thou shalt adore that which thou deliverest to the flames, and shall burn that which thou adorest." In imitation of the Jews, the bishop anointed the forehead of Clovis with an odoriferous oil, which he said was brought to him by a white dove. This pious knavery of the holy oil is due to the celebrated Hincmar of Rheans. He first exhibited the holy phial for the adoration of the faithful, which was no- thing more or less than a lachrymatory, which is frequently found among the Roman tombs, and which appears to have contained the balm which they used in their expiatoxy ceremonies to sprinkle the ashes of the dead. Three thou- sand of his warriors were baptized with Clovis and his sisters Alboflede and Laudechilda. After the ceremony, the chief of the Franks gave to the bishop of Rheims many domains, situated in the provinces of Gaul, which he came to conquer. Many Armorican cities, in consequence of the agreement between the Frank king and the prelate, consented to sub- mit to the authority of the new Christian, and so augmented his forces, that he found him- self in a situation to combat the Burgundians and the Visigoths. This conversion resembled, in its circum- stances and political reasons, that of Constan- tino. The holy father hastened to write to Clovis, to felicitate him on the grace which God had granted to him, in allowing the light of the faith to shine on him. The negotiations of the patrician Faustus were terminated at Constantinople, the legates engaging, in the name of the pope, to sub- scribe to the Henoticon of Zeno. and received from the emperor of the East a promise of the reunion of the two sees. But on their return to Rome they learned that Anastasius had died during the month of March, 498, after having filled the Holy See a year and some months. Some sacred historians affirm, that God had caused him to die suddenly, as a punislunent for having received Photius to his communion. Others maintain that his death was shocking, and that his entrails came out, whilst he was obeying a law of nature. In all points of view, we reject the sentiments of the ultra-montaneSj who regard the death of this pontiff as a chas- tisement from Divine Justice ; for it is most probablehe was poisoned by the priests, whose intolerant passionshe repressed. If Anastasiug had lived some years longer, he would have repaired the evils which his predecessors, through their excessive rigour, had inflicted on the church. The pontiff loved peace, ad- ministered his affairs with an enlightened zeal, and his letters are full of moral thoughts and judicious applications of passages from the Scriptures. He was interred in the church of St. Peter's. After his death discords broke out in the see of Rome, and disturbances recommenced among the faithful. SYMMACHUS, THE FIFTY-THIRD POPE. [A. D. 498. — Anastasius, Emperor of the East.] Ambition of the clergy — Symmachis and Lawrence are chosen popes — Violent seditions in Rome — ■ Judgment of king Theodoric — Holy virgins violated and murdered — Council at Rome to hear the accusations against Symmachus — His pretensions — He presents himself to the council — Is acquitted without examination — The senators Festus and Probinus appeal to the people against the judgment — Quarrel between Symmachus and the emperor Anastasius — State of the Eastern church— The Orientals implore the cud of the pope — They are repelled — Death of Symmachus — His character. The frightful confusion of political affairs ] and public calamities, did not arrest the am- bitioii of the clergy, so ardent is this passion among them. Priests already could not arrive at the sove- reign pontificate but by intrigue, audacity, or bribery. To obtain the tiara, they put in peril the reigning pontiffs, or poisoned them them- selves, when they were employed about their persons. They did not fear to employ deceit, murder, treason, and perjury to obtain their wishes. A schism, whose author was the patrician Festus, broke out after the death of Anastasius. That generous citizen, animated by a love for the public good, wished to re-establish peace between the churches of the East and the West, and caused Lawrence, who had agreed to subscribe to the Henoticon of Zeno, to be elected bishop of Rome. Unfortunately, the greater part of the clergy declared against his protege, and chose the deacon Symmachus. the son of Fortunatus, born in Sardinia. Both were ordained popes on the same day : Symmachus in the church of Constantinople ; Lawrence ui that of St. Mary. The senate HISTORY OF THE POPES. 97 and the people took pait according to their caprice or their interest, and the result was a violent sedition, during which all the horrors of civil and religious war were displayed in Rome. To put an end to the schism, the chief citi- zens compelled the two rivals to go to Ravenna, to submit to the judgment of king Theodoric. The prince decided that the Holy See should appertain to him who was first ordained, and from the information given him. he elevated Symmachus to the pontificate, and excluded Lawrence. The first care of the new pope was to remedy the evils in the church. He assembled a council of seventy-two bishops, who held their first session on the first day of March, in the year 499, and he proposed to them to take steps to prevent the intrigues of the bishops and the popular tumults which took place on the ordination of pontilfs. After acclamation several times repeated, he caused the decrees rendered by the fathers, to be read by the notary Emilianus. The first AA'as as follows: "If any priest, deacon or clerk, during the life of a pope, and without his participation, dares to give his signature, to promise his suffrage in writing or by oath, or to deliberate on this subject in an assembly, he shall be deposed or excommunicated." The second was : " If any pope dies suddenly, without having provided for the election of his successor, he who shall have the suffrages of all the clergy, or of the greater number, shall be the only legitimately consecrated bishop." The third: "If anyone discovers the intrigues which we condemn, and proves them, not only shall he be absolved as an accomplice, but he shall be magnificently recompensed." The council evidenced its consent by new acclamations : the pope and seventy-two bi- shops subscribed them, as well as sixty-seven priests, of whom the first was Celius Law- rence, arch-priest of the order of St. Praxedes, the same who had been elected anti-pope, antl who, in the end, obtained the bishopric of Nocera. The disorders, however, continued in Rome : houses were pillaged, citizens murdered under a pretext of religion, and for the glory of the church : the holy virgins themselves were oven violated and murdered. Lawrence was recalled to the city, under favour of this confusion, and his presence auixnienting the fury of the two parties, they were compelled again to have recourse to king Theodoric. Festusand Probinus besought the prince to send to them a visiting bishop, as if the Holy See were vacant. Theodoric charged Peter, bishop of Altimim. with this important mission, with orders, that on his arrival at Home, he should go at once to the church of St. Peter, to salute pope Sym- machus, and demand that his accusers should be produced, that they might be interrogated by the prelate, but without being put to the torture. The bishop of Altinum did not obey his orders ; he refused to see the pontirt", and joined himself to the schismatics. The Ca- YoL. 1. N tholics, indignant at the conauct of the visit- ing bishop, wished to drive him from the city, regarding his nomination as a violation of the canons of the church. The prince, then obliged himself to come to Rome to re-establish tranquillity, ordered the convocation of a council to examine the accusations against S}mniachus. In obedience to his orders, the bishops of various provinces of the empire, came to the capital of Italy ; but some, incited by Sym- machus, dared to address remonstrances to the monarch. They accused him of having troubled the order of ecclesiastical discipline, by assembling the bi.shops. They represented to him that the pope alone had power to con- voke councils by his primacy of jurisdiction, transmitted from St. Peter and recognized by the authority of the fathers of the church, ani that it was unexampled, that a pontiff should be submitted to the judgment of his inferiors! Already did the tyranny of the clergy weigh heavily upon people and kings ; and Theodoric by his weakness, rendered still more formida- ble the power of the bishops of Rome. The bishops of Italy, assembled in council in the church of Julius, abstained from openly visiting SjTnmachus, in order not to render themselves suspected : but they always made mention of him in their public prayers, to show that they were in his communion. The pope demanded from the father.s, that they should cause the visiting bishop to withdraw, called in contrary to the rules b}' a part of the clergy and principal citizens, and that all the treasures which he had lost should be restored to him. Theodoric refused his demands, or- dering that Symmachus should first reply to his accusers, and transferred the sittings of the council to the church of the palace of Sessorius. Several bishops, from a desire to do justice, proposed receiving the declaration of his ac- cusers ; but their opinion was rejected as derogatory to the dignity of the Holy See, and under the pretext that two essential defects had been discovered in it. Symmachus, reas- sured of the dispositionsof the prelates whom he had gained to his side by promises or money, went to the council, followed by a numerous crowd of partizans. Then the ene- mies of the pope, despairing of obtaining an equitable judgment, and rendered furious by his bold attitude, hurled a shower of stones at the priests who accompanied him, and would have massacred them, if the tumult had not been arrested by the troops of the king, whochariii'd upon the rebels. The par- tizans of Symmachus, using reprisals in their turn, spread tliemselves through the city, forced the gates of convents, massacred priests and monks, (.hew from their retreats the sacred virgins, and caused them to pass through the streets, despoiled of their clothing, entirely naked, and striking them with rods. The holy father was then cited four times to appear before the council ; but he excused himself by alleging the dangers to which ha would be exposed, should he quit the church 98 HISTORY OF THE POPES, of St. Peter, where he had taken refuge ; and the fathers declared they could not condemn an absent man, nor judge as contumacious one who was willing to appear before their tri- bunal. Thus was declared innocent of the accusa- tion of adultery, this pope, who had dared to present himself in the council chamber with a strong retinue, composed of rufhans, who had already committed so many acts of vio- lence and murders. This execrable judgment, rendered by priests proud of their power, was conceived in these terms: " We declare Sym- machus fieed from the accusations brought against him, leaving all to the judgTaent of God. " We ordain that he shall administer the holy mysteries in all the churches dependant on his see ; and we restore to him, in virtue of orders from the prince, all that belongs to the church, within or without Rome. We exhort all the faithful to receive from him the holy communion, under the penalty of ren- dering an account to God. " The clergy who have brought about the schism, by giving satisfactioii to the pope, will obtain pardon, and will be reinstated in their functions ; but, after this sentence, those who shall dare to celebrate mass in any of the Roman churches, without the consent of Sym- machus, shall be punished as schismatics." This decree was subscribed by seventy-two bishops; but many others, persuaded that the pope, not having justified himself, could not be absolved from the crimes imputed to him, refused to sign it. The first preferred to shun a scandal by rendering a judgment contrary to their consciences, in order that the Arians and other adversaries of the church should not have such powerful motives for condemn- ing the Catholics. The cardinal Baronius him- self says, that the fathers of the council "de- sired to bury in profound silence the marks of infamy with which the enemies of the pontiff desired to tarnish him." This edict, however, proves that at this period the bishops of Rome still recognized the authority of kings ; that they addressed themselves to them to obtain permission to assemble national councils ; that they pre- sented themselves before other bishops to justify themselves from crimes of Avhich they were accused^ and that they submitted to their judgment. The people having refused to submit to the decision of the council, the friends of Law- rence attacked the validity of the decree. Symmachus despairing then of being enabled to appease the troubles which were becoming still more violent, assembled a new synod. Eighty bishops, thirty-seven priests, and four deacons composed this assembly : the deacon Ennodius, one of the most pitiful flatterers of the see of Rome, charged with refuting the ac- cusations of the followersof Lawrence, acquit- ted himself of this duty as a true slave of the pope, and concluded his harangue by pro- nouncing him the most, virtuous, the purest, and the holiest of men. This writing, which has been preserved, is a tissue of the most outrageous flatteries, and of false or ridiculous principles. It resembles the apologetic verses of famished poets, who exalt the virtues of the princes who sustain them. Won by the subtle dialectics of the dea- con Ennodius, and by motives of interest still more powerful than eloquence, the s)-nod of Rome gave a second decree in favour of Sym- machus. This assembly was composed of prelates entirely devoted to the Holy See, from which they received, alternately, injuries or benefits, according to their conduct towards its pontiffs. The emperor Anastasius protested against the judgment of the council, and accused the holy father of many crimes, in a libel which he circulated throughout Italy. Symmachus refuted these accusations in an apostolical letter, in Avhich he declares to the emperor, that the interest of his dignity obliging him to put an end to the scandal, he will reply in a brief essay to the injuries they have heaped upon him. He takes all the city of Rome to witness, that he is not infected with Manicheism, and that he has never de- parted from the faith of the Holy See ; he accuses the prince of being himself an Euty- chian, or at least of favouring the partisans of Eutyches, and of communing with them. He treats as an audacious revolt the contempt which Anastasius evidenced for a successor of St. Peter, and pushed his insolence so far as to maintain that his chair was more elevated than all the thrones of the universe. "Com- pare," said he, "the dignity of a bishop with that of an emperor. There exists between them the saine difference asbetween the riches of the earth which a sovereign administers, and the treasure of heaven, of which we are the dispensers. You receive baptism from a bishop; he administers to you the sacraments; you ask for his prayers, you wait for his benedic- tion, and you address yourself to him to sub- mit yourself to penitence. In fine, princes govern the affairs of men, and we dispose of the goods of heaven. You see, my lord, that our dignity is superior to all the grandeur of earth." He finishes his letter by these threats against the emperor: "If you shall be able to prove the accusations against me, you will be ena- bled to obtain my deposition. But do you not equally fear you will lose your crown, if you cannot convict me 1 Recollect that you are but a man, and that this cause will be discussed before God. It is true that a priest should respect the powerful of the earth, but not those who demand things contrary to the law of the church. Respect God in us, and we wrll respect him in you. If you have no regard • Tor our person, how can you strengthen your will over tlie people, and avail yourself of the privileges of a religion whose laws you de- spise? You accuse me of having conspired with the senate to excommunicate you. Have I not then, in that, followed the example of my predecessors? It is not you, my lord, we anathematize ; it is Acacius. Separate your- HISTORY OF THE POPES. 99 self from him, and you will also separate yourself from his excommunication; other- wise it is not we who will condemn you — but yourself." Symmachus then complained of the perse- cution which the emperor caused the Catholics to suffer, prohibiting them from the free exer- cise of their religion, and tolerating all heresies. '' Although we should be in error, our worship should be tolerated as well as that of all others; or if you attack us, you should attack ail the heresies." Finally he exhorts the prince to reunite himself to the Holy See, and to separate himself from the enemies of truth and the church. The exploits of Clovis, in Gaul, had .so in- creased the reputation of the warriors of the Franks, that the emperor Anastasius wished to make a treaty of alHance with this new contjueror, and had sent him, for this purpose, embassadors, charged with rich presents, among which was a magnificent crown of gold, enriched with precious stones, which the king of the Franks sent to the pontiff to be deposited in the church of St. Peter, at Rome. This kind of liberality has been in the end the source of intolerable abuse, and Philip Commines, who was wanting in neither piety nor religion, but who had great exjierience in political ad'airs, strongly condemns the muni- ficence of kings towards priests. He thus expresses himself when speaking of Louis the Eleventh : " The gracious monarch gave much to priests during his life ; and in this he had better have done less ; for he took from the poor to give to those who had no need of it." Princes should drink in these words of sage advice, and not enrich an insatiable clergy by ruining the people. The church of the East was always in trou- ble and confusion. The Catholics exercised against the heretics all the cruelties which vengeance inspires. These, in their turn, sus- tained by the emperor Anastasius, pursued their adversaries with fury. The monasteiies became the theatres of the most cruel wars, of which zeal for religion served as a pretext, and of which ambition, or the vengeance of the priests was the true motive. The following passage from Juvenal de- scribes perfectly the situation of affairs in the East: '-The citizens of the city of Omba, and those of Teutyris, have been for a great number of years irreconcileable enemies. They have never been willing to form alli- ances ; their hatred is inveterate, immortal ; and this incurable wound is yet more bloody to-day. These people are animated by an extreme fury, the one against the other, be- cause the Oinbians adore a God, whom the Tentyrians execrate. Each maintains, that the divinity they respect is the true and only one." The hatred of the Orientals, as ridiculous in its motives, and as ill founded as that of Omba and Teutyris, drew a deluge of calamities upon the church of Constantinople. At length the Orientals implored the aid of S}Tnmachus, in an epistle, which, according to ancient usage, they addressed to Rome and the bishops of the VVest. They demanded to be reunited in communion with the Holy See, and not to be punished for the faults of Aca- cius. since they accepted the letter of St. Leo and the councd of Chalcedon : " Do not reject us," they wrote, "under the pretext that we commune with yoiu- adversaries, for our pre- lates are less attached to life, than tormented by the fear of leaving their fiocks a prey to heretics. Those who have approved of the conduct of our patriarch, and those who are separate from his communion, wait for your succour next to that of God, and beseech you to render to the East the light which you your- selves originally received from it. The evil is so great that we cannot go to seek the remedy, and you must come to us." Then, in order to show that they are Ca- tholics, they finish by an exposition of their doctrine, and condemn Nestorius and Euty- ches. The orthodoxy of the Orientals, and the compassion which their misfortunes inspired, were powerful motives to determine the pon- tiff to relax in his rigour, and to engage to procure them peace, of which they had so great need. But Symmachus repelled all their advances, and by his harshness showed that the popes know not how to pardon any one who resists their ambitious designs. Should religion inspire such implacable hatred, and shall it be always the cause of the misfor- tunes of the people 1 Let us hope that reason and philosophy will replace, in future, religious fanaticism, which, during almost two thousand years, has served as a veil to conceal from men, the baneful passions of the princes of the church. S^Tiimachus died, according to the opinion of modern chronologists, on the 19th of July, 514, toward the end of the sixteenth year of his pontificate, without having been able to disprove the accusations of adultery, which had been brought against him. His ashes were deposited in the church of St. Peter. 100 HISTORY OF THE POPES. HORMSIDAS, THE FIFTY-FOURTH POPE. [A. D. 514. — Anastasius and Justin, Emperors of the East.] Picture of the misfortunes of the church — The priests excite seditions — Martyrdom of St. Proteus by the people of his diocese — Disorders at Aiitioch — Revolt of Sabas — Excesses at Constanti- nople— The emperor writes to the pope to convoke a council — Reply of the pope — Pretensions of Hormsidas — His legates received with great honours — He refuses the condemnation of Aca- cius — Second embassy to Constantinople — The pope exacts from the bishops an anathema against Acacius — The emperor sends back the fathers without assembling the council — Reign of Justin, an ignorant and Catholic prince — Reunion of the churches of Rome and Constantinople — Do- rotheas, bishop of Thessalonica, opposes the reunion — The legates of the pope ill treated — Famous controversy — 2'he rnonks driven from Rome — Death of Hormsidas — His character. Before speaking of the successor of Sym- machus, it is necessary to trace the picture of the deplorable state of the church in the beginning of the sixth century. Father Louis Doucin has left us a description so touching, and so conformed to the truth, that no one can study it without being penetrated with the most lively compassion for the unfortu- nate people who are submitted to the despot- ism of emperors, or the domination of priests. Wise men had failed in all their efforts to pacify the church, and their counsels had only irritated the passions of the clergy. Cities were constantly troubled by bloody seditions, and the prelates, far from appeasing them, frequently even excited them ; every where murders and sacrileges were committed in holy places were the themes of discourse and the capitals of the provinces had become the thea- tres of the most horrible cruelties. The massacres commenced in the city of Alexandria. The holy martyr Proteus, bishop of that city, was murdered in his very church, and only from hatred to the council of Chal- cedon. This venerable old man, besieged in his house by a troop of furious wretches, was obliged to take refuge in a chapel adjoining the metropolitan church ; but neither the majesty of the place, nor the sanctity of the day (Holy Thursday) could protect him against the rage of his enemies. He was assassinated by the baptismal font, and his blood coloured the steps of the sanctuary. These cannibals then mutilated his body in an infamous manner — tore out his entrails, ate his heart, and dragged through the streets his mutilated remains, striking them with sticks. As fanaticism, excited by the vin- dictiveness of priests, places no bounds to its vengeance, the remains of the flesh of the martyr were hung to a gibbet, and his horrid funeral rites celebrated upon a scaffold. Antioch was disgraced by like executions, and four orthodox patriarchs were massacred during the seditions. The heretics were not the sole authors of these atrocities; the Ca- tholics exercised like violence, and on their side preserved no measure in their vengeance. Under the pretext of assembling a synod to disc'iss religious affairs, they drew into the city a great number of Eutychian monks, '■' and there, as on a field of battle, they main- tained religion by massacreing all the heretics. The blood which was shed on this fatal day caused the Orontes to overflow, and dead bo- dies arrested the course of the river for some days." At Jerusalem the famous Sabas, a Catholic bishop, carried away by religious zeal, had assembled in the desert more than four thou- sand Arabs, and at their head attacked the troops of the emperor, routed them, and caused religion to flourish, not by force of anathemas or miracles, but by the terror which his ban- dits inspired. The clergy rendered themselves still more terrible at Constantinople. The majesty of the throne was not even spared , the priests over- whelmed with outrages the unfortunate em- peror Anastasius; they stabbed his best friends almost under his very eyes, massacred a religious female whom they accused of ad- vising him ; drew from his retreat a poor Eremite, and after having killed him, paraded his head through the city on the point of a lance, crying out, '• Behold the contidant of him who has declared war on the adorable Trinity ! Thus perish all the blasphemers of the three divine persons."' Then they secured the gates of Constanti- nople, and forming a camp in the midst of the city, organizecl troops of assassins to mur- der those who were suspected of heresy ; to burn their houses and destroy the statues of the emperor. The senators sent by the prince to calm this irritated multitude were driven off by blows from stones, and Anastasius him- self was besieged in his palace by a species of army, composed of monks, priests, and devotees, marching in order of procession, with the cross and scriptures. The affrighted monarch only saved his life from the fury of these inexorate wretches, by disgraceful sub- mission. The priests would desire, beyond doubt, to weaken the recollection of those horrible cru- elties, but God has permitted the sad remem- brance of them to come down to our times, to teach nations that they ought to suppress with severity the ambition of the clergy. The authority of the popes was strength- ened daily by these disorders, and by the complaisance of the emperors, who, far re- HISTORY OF THE POPES. ic: moved from the ancient capital, showed an extri'ine submission to the pontifi's, in order to retain the people under their despotism. The barbarians who had invaded the pro- vinces of the empire, ec^ually sought the friendship of the bishop of Rome. Then the holy father flattered the ambition of rival princes, and sold his alliance to the two parties. On their side, the heretics, like bad herbs or foul plants, banished and driven away, now from Africa and now from the East, had still resource to the Holy See, and addressed to it their appeals ; and all complaints, as all alli- ances, were favourably received, provided they favoured the proud project of universal monarchy, entertained by the pontiffs of Rome. Finally, at this period, the policy of the popes had rendered them the dispensers of all grace ) there was not a single bishop who did not seek the friendship of the holy father for the interests of his diocese or his personal glory. The pontiffs availed themselves skil- fully of all these circumstances. If they were consulted — if very humble requests were ad- dressed to them, or if they themselves even gave advice, they made it pass for a com- mand. Finally, if prelates named them as arbiters in their differences, their arbitration was immediately changed into a judgment. Such was the position of the church at the beginning of the sixth century ! We ought to add that the faithful were divided on the sub- ject of a council, which was principally accused of having approved of the epistle of Ibas, the faith of Theodore, and the writings of Theodoret. It was in the midst of these disorders, so fatal to the church, and so advantageous to the Holy See, that Celius Hormsidas, the son of Justus, a native of the small town of Frusil- ona, in Campania, was chosen at Rome, to replace Symmachus. His election was as peaceful as that of his predecessor had been tumultuous; all voices were reunited in his favour, and no more was heard of the schism of the followers of Lawrence. The political skill of Hormsidas contributed much to this happy event. Cassidorus, who was then consul, felicitated king Theodoric on this reiuiion of the clergy, and the people of Rome congratulated them- selves on it, as the greatest happiness which could render his consulate illustrious, and as an incontestable proof of the mildness of the govi'rnment of his prince. But through the whole East fanaticism was changed into religious phrensy. Religion, which is frequently a pretext ior ambition, concealed from the eyes of the Catholics, the criminality of the revolt of Vitalian, the gene- ral of the cavalry of the emperor. This rebellious subject advanced even to the gates of Constantinople, and constrained Anastasius to sue for peace from him, imposing as its con- dition that all the property of heretics should be surrendered to the orthodo.\, and that a council should be assembled to excoramuni- ^te them. The prince, in order to accomplish his pro- mises, wrote to Hormsidas, beseechuig him to labour with him to pacify the troubles, and reunite the churches of the East and West, laying upon the harshness of the popes, his predecessors, all the disorders which desolated his states. The holy father replied to the emperor with empty congratulations : '• I am delighted, my lord, to see in you opinions so favourable, and thank God that he has in- spired you to brteak silence. I rejoice in the hope of seeing the church of Jesus Christ in peace and union ; but I shall not be able to write to you more at length until I shall have been informed of the motive for the convoca- tion of the council." The bishop of Thessalonica also addressed a long epistle to the pope, exhorting him to labour for the glory of religion, and testifying that he would consent, on this condition, to condemn the heretics, and to recognize in the Holy See a right of sovereignty over the other prelates. The pontiff approved his zeal, and promised to contribute, on his side, to the re- union of the churches, without at all replying in a positive manner to the observations of the bishop. At length the emperor, tired of the tardi- ness shown by Hormsidas, sent him another letter, apprizing him that the council would assemble in the city of Heraclea, and inviting him to go there by the 1st of July, in the same year, (515). Vitalian had sent him em- bassadors for the same purpose, and king Theodoric solicited him to yield to the desires of the Orientals. The pontiff, pressed on all sides, found himself obliged to assemble a synod to name legates. His choice fell upon bishop Fortunatus and Ennodius, bishop of Pavia, the same who, whilst deacon, had de- clared himself the defender of Symmachus, and had been provided with a bishopric as a recompense therefor. The instructions of the legates obliged them to obtain from the council a promise that the bishops accused of heresy should be sent to Rome, to demand the re-installation of those who were in communion with the Holy See, and the condemnation of those who had per- secuted the Catholics. Hormsidas thus ap- peared to evince mildness, whilst in reality his policy had no other end but to augment the rights of his see. Anastasius penetrated the secret intentions of the pontiff, and discovered that he had not consented to be represented at the council of Heraclea, but on condition of guiding it at his pleasure. Nevertheless, he hoped thai by temporising, the holy father would return to ideas more ecjuitable, and more in conformity with the wretched state of the established churches, he received the legates most fa- vourably, rendering to them every honour, in order to convince the Holy See of the honesty j of his purposes. The single point of the ana- thema of Acacius was rejected by the prince. [ He wrote to the pope that he condemned Nes- torius and Eutyches, and that he acknovr- I ledged the council of Chalcedon ; but in 102 HISTORY OF THE POPES. reference to Acacius, said, he " found it wholly [ and fifty of our people, wounded even a greater unjust to chase the living from the church on | number, and massacred, even at the very foot account of the dead j" addnig, that the fathers of the altar, those who had hoped to tind a would decide ail questions in the council, and that he would advise the Holy See of the re- sult of its deliberations. In the following year (516) the emperor sent to Rome, Theopompus, captain of his guards, and Severianus, a counsellor of state, hoping that persons so eminent might conduct the affair with more wisdom than ecclesiastics, always urgent for the interest of their caste. The embassadors were charged with a letter place of refuge in the churches. Besides, during the night, our caves were pillaged, sanctuaries violated, and buildings given to the flames. " You will be advised of all these circum- stances by the memorials which our venera- ble brothers, John and Sergius will place in your hands. We sent envoys to Constantino- ple to obtain justice from our enemies ; but the emperor, without deigning to reply to for the holy father, and another for the senate j them, drove them in disgrace from the city of Rome, whose assistance it claimed in soli citing king Theodoric and the pontiff to labour seriously for the peace of the church. The senate, under the influence of Hormsidas, His otiicers, even, were unwilling to listen to our complaints, maintaining that we were justly punished for our rebellion. Then we turn to you, most holy father, to beseech you replied to the emperor that the Roman clergy to sympathize with the wounds of the body vould never consent to a reunion of the churches, if the name of Acacius was pre- served in the sacred books. On his part, the pontiff' added, that " far from having need of being exhorted by the senate, he cast himself at the feet of the emperor, to beseech him to have pity on religion." of the church of which you are the chief, by revenging the contempt which has been shown for religion and yourself, who are the successor of Peter, and who have power to bind on earth and in heaven." Then they finished their letter by anathe- matizine: Nestorius, Eutyches, Dioscorus, This fiypocrisy rendering the advances of | Peter of Alexandria, Peter the fuller, and the emperor fruitless, a second legation went Acacius. The pope replied by a letter, ad- fromRome to Constantinople. The pope then : dressed not only to the Archimandrites of chose for his legates Ennodius of Pavia, and Greater Syria, but to the Catholics of the whole Peregrinus of Mycenum. He gave them six [ East, exhorting them to remain firm in the letters, with a formula of reunion for schis matics, aird nineteen copies of a protest, to be scattered through the cities, if the letters were not received. In these different writings the holy father showed himself always the same ; always in- flexible, always resolved to follow up the con- demnation of Acacius, whose memory was Roman faith, whose purity, he said, had been attested by many miracles. During the same year (519) the emperor Anastasius died, struck by lightning. The priests, availing themselves of this circum- stance, frightened the superstitious multitude, and threatened the heretics with the ven- geance of God. Their intrig-ues were so well held in veneration through a great part of the conducted, that they placed on the throne East. This second legation insisting on the Justin, a very ignorant man, and from that same principles, could not achieve any result, very cause, a good Catholic. The prince, on Anastasius refused the reunion on the condi- his elevation, gave a direction to affairs en- tions imposed on him, declaring that he was ' tirely opposite to that of his predecessor. The unwilling to charge his conscience with an pretended heretics were punished, and the infamous action, in blackening the reputation populace by reiterated acclamations made the of many holy bishops, and in condemning as | Catholic faith triumphant. The will of a fana- heretics men whose crimes existed in- the '. tical mob having been confirmed by a council chimerical ideas of their adversaries. held at Constantinople, the Catholics could Then the mischief-making monks were exercise their vengeance against the Euty- charged by the legates to spread through all i chians. the cities, the protests of the Holy See ; but | But the church of Constantinople was not the bishops arrested their distribution, and j yet reunited to that of Rome ] and this affair informed 'the emperor of it, who, justly pro- j appearing to be of the highest importance in voked by the obstinacy of Hormsidas, sent the eyes of the orthodox, the emperor Justin back the prelates who had come to the coun- | wrote to the pontiff, to advise him of his eleva- cil of Heraclea, broke off all negotiations with the inflexible pontiff, and recommenced the war. The Archimandrites and monks of Second Syria, then addressed a request to the holy father, complaining of a persecution by Seve- rus, patriarch of Antioch and chief of the Eutychians. They expressed themselves thus: "As we were on our way to rejoin our brethren, of the monastery of St. Simeon, to defend with them the cause of the church, the here- tics placed an ambuscade on our route, and falling on us unprepared, slew three hundred tion, and to pray him to concur in the wish of John of Constantinople, who recognized the sovereign authority of the Holy See. Horm- sidas went to Ravenna, to confer with Theo- doric on this subject. The Gothic king ordered him to send to Constantinople a third legation of five persons, who were chosen from among the prelates of whose zeal and fidelity the holy father was well assured. In the differ- ent provinces through which they passed, the legates assured themselves of the aid of all the bishops whom they had occasion to see, and on the Monday of the holy week, which. if HISTORY OF THE POPES. 103 ■vvas the day of their arrival at Constantinople, they gave inforn:iation of the nature of the formulary of which they were the bearers, and delivered a speech in full senate, in the presence of four bishops who represented the patriarch. Their propositions were accepted without discussion, and some days after, the reunion of the two churches was solemnly de- clared. The names of Acacius, of the pa- triarchs Flavita, Euphemius, Macedonius, and Timothy, as well as tho.se of the emperors Zeno and Anastasius, were effaced from the sacred records. Dorotheus, bishop of Thessalonica, alone re- fused to sign the formula of faith brought from the West, and also to approve of the condem- nation of Acacius. Following his example, the people rose against the legates whom the pope had sent into his diocese, and they were obliged to escape by night to avoid the dan- gers which threatened them. The deacon John was wounded by many blows of a dagger in his head and veins ; and a Catholic also, called John, was slain and torn to pieces for having received the legates into his house. The peace restored to the church after so many years of bloody quarrels, was again on the point of being troubled by the famous proposition, " One of the Trinity has been crucified." The monks of Scythia sustained this dogma, despite of the decisions of the orthodox prelates : as they refused to yield to the judgment of their bishops, they came to Rome to demand the opinion of the holy father ; but the count Justniian and Dioscorus, one of the legates who had already judged the affair, wrote to Hormsidas against these mischief-making monks, who were driven in disgrace from the city. Thus the Catholics triumphed every where. Dorotheus, bishop of Thessalonica, even had been arrested and conducted to Heraclea by order of the emperor, that his affair might be investigated ; but the legates wishing to exact that he should be re-conducted to Rome with the priest Aristides, that both should be ex- communicated and deposed, Justin refused to give them such satisfaction, and contented himself with obliging Dorotheus to send en- voys to the pontiff to make his submission. He then re-installed him in his see. The holy father died in the month of Sep- tember, 523, having governed the church for nine j'ears. Hormsidas, in the exercise of his functions, showed an excessive ambition and an impla- cable fanaticism. We do not find, however, that the church has granted him the honours of canonization ; at least she has been un- willing to glorify the generosity of the pontiff in building convents and churches, and to re- compense him for having persecuted the unfortunate heretics, Nestorians. Eutychians, ArianS; Pelagians, and Manicheans, whom he caused to be publicly scourged, both men and women, before sending them into exile. JOHN THE FIRST, FIFTY-FIFTH POPE. [A. D. 523. — Justin the First, Emperor of the East.] Election of John — The emperor Justin persecutes the Arians — The ocJoric sends the pontiff to the East — 'Miracle of the papers horse — Another miracle of John's — He receives great honours at Constantinople — His pride — His Knavery — I'hepope is arrested by Theodoric — He dies in prison. The Holy See remained vacant for six or seven days, when John, surnamed Catelinus the Tuscan, son of Constantine, was chosen to fill it. He reigned two years and nine months, according to the learned Holstein. Other writers maintain that this chronology is not exact, and that it is impossible to fix the duration of the pontificate of John. The peace which the church beg-an to enjoy after the reunion with the Orientals, was soon troubled by the fanaticism of the emperor Justin, who had sworn to exterminate the heretics and Arians; a foolish enterprize, worthy of a stupid prince, who understood neither his own interests nor those of his sub- jects. He published edicts to compel the Arians to be converted, and threatened them with the most cruel punishment. In their despair, the unfortunate persecuted had recourse to Theodoric. who wrote to the emperor Justin in their favour, but his letters not being able to change the disposition of the emperor, he, irritated by the contempt they evinced in the East from his mediation, and suspecting that Roman politics were not igno- rant of the blows aimed at Arianism, obliged John to come to his court, and ordered him to go as embassador to Constantinople, to cause Justin to revoke his decree. He even threat- ened the pontifT to treat with rigor the Ca- tholics of Italy, if they still persecuted the ministers of his creed, and if the emperor did not consent to restore to the Arians the churches taken from them. This prince was the more disposed to use reprisals, from seeing with what ingratitude the important services which he had rendered to the Roman church were regarded, and from the extreme tolerance which he had always shown to the orthodox in his dominions. Theodoric, in removing the pontiff, under the pretext of a pompous embassy, not only desired to restore the exercise of their religion to the unfortunate victims of the fanaticism 104 HISTORY OF THE POPES. of Justin, but also wished to put an end to the plots against his life, and of which the holy father was the most ardent favourer. John dared not resist the orders of the king, and went with the other embassadors. The legends relate several miracles per- formed by the holj- father during his journey : " When John had arrived at the city of Co- rinth," says the pious chronicler, ''he had need of a saddle-horse to continue his journey. They brought him one belonging to one of the principal ladies of the country, and the next day, after having used him, he sent him back to his mistress. But, oh. wonderful to relate ! the lady who before had been accustomed to mount the horse, could no longer rule him, and was obliged to send him to the pontiff." Gregory the Great piously explains this fable, and adds, besides, one still more extra- ordinary. He says, " that when the holy father was entering Constantinople, a blind man be- sought him to restore his sight, which he did by placing his hands on his eyes, in the pre- sence of all the people." Anastasius the librarian does not speak of these miracles; he tells us only that great honours were rendered to JoRn, and that the populace went out twelve miles to meet him, with banners and ensigns displayed. The emperor, overjoyed at being enabled to see the successor of St. Peter, prostrated himself at his feet, and demanded to be crowned by his hand. The 23atriarch Epiphanus then invited pope John to officiate ; he, through a sentiment of inconceivable pride, was unwilling to accept the honour until he had received the assur- ance that he should not only be seated in the highest place, but even on a throne. The patriarch of Constantinople yielded to the wishes of the holy father, not because he regarded him as his superior in dignity, but because he viewed him in the light of an em- bassador from a powerful king. Crazed by his fanaticism, the emperor re- jected all remonstrances on the subject of the Arians. Then John, having recourse to tears, represented to him that his conduct towards the heretics would produce terrible conse- quences to the Catholics of Italy, and drew from him a promise to yield to the Arians freedom to worship. Other historians, on the contrary, maintain that the pontifl, so far from acquittmg himself of the mission with which he was charged by king Theodoric, encou- raged the emperor in the extravagant design he had formed of exterminating the Arians. All, however, agree, that on his return from his embassy, John was arrested at Ra- venna, with the senators who accompanied him. Theodoric, whose moderation had never failed during a very long reign, would never have committed this act of violence, if he had not had certain proof of the treason of his embassadors. The pontiff was condemned to finish his days in prison, in which he died on the 27th of March, 526. His body was transported to Rome, and interred at St. Peter's. The church honours his memory as that of a holy martyr ; nevertheless we must avow, that it is difficult to account for the motives which have decreed the honours of canoniza- tion to a pope who was justly punished for his ill-directed ambition, and who, besides, did not suffer a violent death. FELIX THE FOURTH, FIFTY-SIXTH POPE. [A. D. 526. — Justin the First and Justinian, Emperors.] Election of Felix by king Theodoric — Bad faith of Fleury in his Ecclesiastical History — The election, of bishop of Rome appertained to the people — Corruption of the clergy — Condemna- tion of the Semi-Pelagians — Rigor of the pope against a monk — Death of Felix. Felix, fourth of the name, was elevated to the Holy See by the authority of king Theodoric. He was a Samnite by birth, and the son of Castorius. Ancient and modern authors, who have spoken of this election, lead us to suppose that the ambition of the priests had excited intrigiies and disorders among the clergy, in order to give a successor to John, and that Theodoric interposed his authority to maintain the peace in Rome. This is confirmed by a letter from king Atha- laric, in which he exhorts the senate to place themselves under the government of the pope ■whom his predecessor had selected, and to put an end to their quarrels. Fleury has cited this letter of Athalaric, conceahng the facts which it contains, and in his love for the Holy See prefers to blacken his own reputation as a historian, and incur that of a forger, rather than avow the truth. It is proved by the most authentic testi- mony, that at this period the election of the popes was still a right of the people, and that in order to enjoy their dignity, the pontiffs must be confirmed by the prince. The judi- dious Fra-Paolo makes this same remark in his excellent treatise on beneficial affairs, which critics attribute to father Fulgentius. his com- panion. History teaches us nothing of the actions of Felix the Fourth; only Cassidorus says, that the emperor Valentinian the Second had formerly enacted a law, by which the pope was submitted, in certain cases, to the judg- HISTORY OF THE POPES, 105 mcnt of the secular magistrates, and that this law, degrading to the Holy See, was revoked by king Athalaric, at the jirayer of Feli\ the Fourth. This prince then published an edict exhorting ecclesiastics to reform their morals, and to place bounds to the frightful corruption which prevailed among the clergy of Rome. The sect of semi-Pelagians continued to make progress, and spread even into Gaul. The bishops of the country then assembled a council at Orange to condemn the heresy, and sent their decree to be submitted to the ap- probation of the holy father ; but the synodi- cal letter of the council of Orange did not arrive in Italy until after the death of Felix; and Boniface, his successor, subscribed it without any observation on the sentence pro- nouncH'd agiiinst the Pelagians. In the same year (528) a monk named Equi- tus, pretending that he had received power from heaven to exercise pastoral functions, travelled through the cities and country, so- lemnly dedicating churches, consecrating priests, administering confirmation, and caus- ing himself to be adored by the faithful. His boldness excited the indigiiation of the clergy of the Roman church, who wrote to Felix, '•' Most holy father, a monk has taken upon himself authority to preach, and ascribes to Mraself your functions, all ignorant as he is! ... . We beseech you to cause him to be arrested, that he may be taught the force of discipline !....'' The pope ordered Julian, then the defender of the Roman faith, and af- terwards bishop of Sabinum, to seize him and put him to the most cruel torture. During the night the orders were changed, and Julian having demanded the cause of it, was an- swered that the pontifT had been terrified by a vision, and that an angel had piohibited him from persecuting^the servant of God. It is not wonderful that pope Gregory the Great, whose writings are tilled with prodi- gies, has adopted this fable ; but we are aston- ished that Fleury has related it as a true history. These kind of miracles should find no place but in legends ; or at least the faith- ful should be warned that such pious tales, so far from elevating the majesty of the Ca- tholic religion, and affording a proof of its divinity, only serve to spread ridicule over it. Felix died on the 12th of October, 520, after a pontilicate of three years. Among the most remarkable monuments built during his reign, were the churches of St. Cosmus and St. Damian and that of St. Saturninus. which had been entirely consumed by lire, and was now rebuilt. During this pontificate, St. Benedict, the cele- brated founder of a great number of religious orders in the West, published his monastic rule, which reposes upon this principle : '• Those are true Christians who live from the fruits of their labour." All the articles of these admirable rules tend to form congrega- tions of laborious men, on whom the pious abbot imposes the obligation of employing their activity or intelligence in Tiseful pro- ductive labours. Benedict was descended from an illustrious family of Nosca, a city of the duchy of Spo- letta. He studied at Rome, and was distin- guished for his rapid progress in science and letters. In spite of the brilliant career which his name and fortune could have opened to him in the world, he abandoned, at the age of seventeen, parents, friends and country, to retire to a cavern in the midst of the desert of Subiaco, forty miles from the holy city. After having passed three years in prayer and meditation, he associated with him some pil- grims, who, attracted by his reputation for sanctity had come to visit him, and constructed cells for them to sleep in. His little liock in- creasing day by day, the pag^an population of the neighbourhood took umbrage, and obliged them to retire to Mount Cassino. where they encountered other idolaters. St. Benedict con- verted them by his elocpient preaching, and transformed their temple, which had been consecrated to Apollo, into a Christian church, dedicated to the true God. He then built an immense monastery adjoining the new church, which he governed for forty years. Following his example, his companions, heirs of his thoughts continued to clear up the land, to drain the marshes, and to copy ancient manu- scripts, those treasures which antiquity has left to future ages. BONIFACE THE SECOND, FIFTY-SEVENTH POPE. [A. D. 529. — Justinian, Emperor of the East.] Ambition of fhe clergy — Election of Boniface — Schism of Dioscorus — Anathema against him — The other popes accused of simony — Boniface violates the canons — Stephen of Larissa — Death of the pope. After the death of Felix, the intrigues for a successor were renewed. At this period the ambition of the priests had grown to be very great ; liberty began to be banished from the elections, and those who had riches or pow- VoL. 1 . 0 erful friends could alone hope to aspire to the episcojmte. Boniface the Second, a Roman by birth, son of Sigisvult, of the race of the Goths, was chosen to succeed Felix the Fourth, and 106 HISTORY OF THE POPES. was ordained in the church of Julius. But another party chose the deacon Dioscorus, whom we beHeve to be the same who was sent on the embassy to Constantinople by Hormsidas. Boniface, the tranquil possessor of the Holy See, pursued his vengeance against his competitor, and anathematized him even after his death. The bull of excommunica- tion was signed by the clergy, and deposited in the archives of the church, as an eternal monument of his apostolic vigour. The pon- tiff accused Dioscorusof simony, and it appears by a rescript of king Athalaric, that the accu- Bation was well founded ; but Boniface, ac- cording to the report of Anastasius the librarian, was guilty of the same crime. Then the pope assembled a council in the church of St. Peter, and made a decree which gave him *the power of designating his suc- cessor ; and he compelled the bishops, by oath and in writing, to recognize the deacon Vigi- lius in this capacity. Shortly after another council was held, and the decree was erasea as contrary to the canons and dignity of the Holy See. The pontiff acknowledged himself g-uilty of lese-majesty, an usurper of the sove- reign authority, and cast his bull into the flames, in the presence of the bishops and clergy. The same year (531) during the consulate of Lampadus and Orestes, Stephen, bishop of Larissa, addressed a complaint to the pope on the subject of a new heresy, the name of which has not descended to us. On this occa- sion a third council was held, to which Theo- dosius, bishop of Echnicum, in Thessaly, pre- ferred the complaint of Stephen. The decision of the fathers is not known. Boniface died towards the end of the year 531. This pope showed himself during his reign to be a very religious observer of the worship of angels, and built a magnificent church in honour of the archangel St. Mi- chael. JOHN THE SECOND, SURNAMED MERCURY, FIFTY-EIGHTH POPE. [A. D. 530. — Justinian, Emperor of the East.] Avarice of the priests — Election of John — Complaints against simoniacal elections — State of the Eastern church — Justinian sends rich presents to the pope — John condemns the Acemeta and approves of the doctrine anathematized by Hormsidas — He declares '• that one of the three per- sons of the Trinity was crucified'' — Contradictory judgments of the Holy See — Contumeliosus — Death of John. There existed so little good faith and true religion among the clergy of Rome, that in order to obtain the pontificate, some priests distributed all their money ; others mortgaged their palaces ; whilst some, less scrupulous, promised the property of the church. At length the Holy See being put up at auction, John the Second, surnamed from his elo- quence. Mercury, paid enormous sums to his competitors, and obtained the pontifical tiara. Corruption had then so increased, that the senators sold their votes operdy : and in order not to profane the Divinity, we will say. that the Holy Spirit did not govern the election of the popes of this period ; for God could not preside over a council where the chair of St. Peter was adjudged to the highest and last bidder. John the Second was ordained on the 22d of January. 532 ; he was born at Rome, and his father was named Projectus. Shortly after his enthroning, a supporter of the church wrote to king Athalric, that during the vacancy of the Holy See the partizans of the pontiff had sold their votes for the election, and had extorted from him promises of the property of the church, and that in order to satisfy these engagements, John had publicly exposed for sale the sacred vessels. To remedy this abuse, the king wrote to the pope, the patriarchs, and the metropolitan churches, to observe a decree of the senate, made during the pontificate of Boniface, and conceived in these terms : " Those who have promised houses, land or money to obtain a bishopric, shall be regarded as simoniacal and sacrilegious ; their engagements shall be an- nulled, and all that they have taken from the church shall be restored. Officers of the palace are nevertheless permitted to take three thou- sand pennies of gold to expedite despatches when there shall be a dispute in the election of a pope ; but rich officers shall not accept any thing, because these largesses are taken from the patrimony of the poor." "In the elections of patriarchs (a name given to bishops of great cities) they shall take as much as two thousand pennies of gold, and in that of mere bishops, five hun- dred pennies of gold shall be distributed to the people." The king then ordered the prefect of Rome to cause this decree to be engraven on a slab of marble, and to be placed at the entrance of the court of St. Peter's. Platinus affirms that John the Second con- demned Anthimus, patriarch of Constanti- nople, who had become an Arian. On his part, the emperor Justinian pursued with great rigor the heretics of the East, whose conver- sion he had sworn to effect. The prince sent to Rome Hypacus, arch- HISTORY OF THE POPES. 107 bishop of Ephesus. and Demetrius, bishop of Phihppi, to consult the pope on the proposi- tions laid down by Cyrus and Eutogus, depu- ties from the monastery of the AcemetCD. In a letter he wrote to the holy father, he testifies for him great respect, and informs him that the monks rejected the dogma, "That Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, born of Mary, is one of the persons of the Trinity." Justinian besought the pontiif to address him a bull, declaring that he received to his communion all those who partook of his sentiments, and that he condenmed those who did not conform thereto. To give more weight to his demand, the emperor sent rich presents, destined for the church of St. Peter : a vase of gold, weighing five pounds, garnished with precious stones ; two chalices of silver of si.x pounds each; two others of five pounds, and four veils in tissue of gold. This liberality dis- posed the clergy of Rome favourably towards Justinian, and the pope condemned the Ace- metae without being even willing to listen to their complaints. According to father Louis Doucin, the bad faith of the ^nonks was the only cause of their condemnation. John, indignant at seeing the monks take advantage of the judgment ren- dered by Hormsidas, approved, without exami- nation, the dogmas which the emperor maui- tained against them, and declared as most orthodox the same proposition which his pre- decessor had excommunicated. Nevertheless, the holy father deliberated more than a year, and even wrote to Africa to enlighten himself by the opinions of the learned. Ferrand, a disciple of St. Fulgen- tius, a skilful theologian, replied to the con- sultation with all the subtlety of the priests of our days. He concluded in conformity with the doctrine of his master, and very fa- ourably to the emperor, in saying, •' that it is not one of the Trinity who suffered and died, but one of the three persons of the Trinity." The pope launched anathemas against the heretical Greeks who had come to Rome to defend their doctrine, and particularly against Cyrus, the deputy of the Acemette monks. In humiliating, also the Nestorians, John sus- tained the Acephali, who were protected by the empress, and caused the two parties to comprehend that, of which in the end they were not forgetful, that the Holy See was not inflexible, and that for money the retraction of a former judgment could be obtained. About the same period, John received let- ters from St. Ctt'sar of Aries, and other pre- lates of Gaul, in relation to Contumeliosus, bishop of Riez, convicted, on his own confes- sion, of enormous crimes. He ordered that this bishop should be interdicted from all his functions, and be confined in a monastery, in order to repent for the rest of his life. Pope John died on the 26th of April, 535, after having held the see three years and four months. AGAPETUS, THE FIFTY-NINTH POPE. [A. D. 535. — Justinian, Emperor of the East.] Education of Ampetus — His election — Letter from the emperor to the pope — Sentiment of Aga- petus on the alienation of the s,oods of the church — He recognizes the superiority of councils — He is sent by Theodatiis as embassador to Constantinople — Poverty of the pope — He is received with great honours — Refuses his communion to the patriarch Anthimus — Reflections on the axUliority of the popes — He persitades the emperor that Anthimus is an heretic, and makes him drive him from his see — He neglects the ajfairs of Thcodaius and troubles the quiet of the Eastern churches — Death of the pope. The priest Gordian, the father of Rusticus Agapetus, had educated his son with much care. He placed him when very young among the clergy of Rome, where he exercised the first duties of the clerical order in the church of the martyrs St. John and St. Paul ; then he was made a deacon ; afterwards rector of the same church, and, finally, his great virtues caused him to be judged worthy to fill the chair of St. Peter on the death of John the Se- cond. The clergy and the people havii;e united their suffrages in his favour, he received the episcopal ordination, and was recognized as sovereign pontiff. He commenced his administration by an act of justice. He publicly burned, in the midst of the church, the anathema which Boniface had extorted by knavery from the bishops and priests against Dioscorus, his com- petitor. He blackened, by this circumstance, the memory of his predeces.sor. and by an admirable generosity, preferred an equitable justice to the vain glory of the Holy See, to which he did not attribute the divine privi- lege of infallibility. As soon as the emperor was apprised of the election of Agapetus, he sent the priest Hera- clius as his embassador to congratulate hira. In his letter he explained to the holy father, that in order to facilitate the conversion of the Arians, it was necessary to offer tliom the same rank in the church that they held in their own sect. The pontiff, in replying to the compliments of the emperor, approved of his zeal for the reunion of the Arians, but repre- sented to him that the popes themselves had 108 HISTORY OF THE POPES. no power to change the canons, which pro- hibited reconciled heretics from preserving holy orders. The alTair of Contunieliosus, bishop of Riez, was not terminated by the judgment of John the Second, and that prelate appealed to the Holy See from the sentence of his colleagues and the decision of John the Second. Aga- petus their wrote to St. CoBsar, that in accord- ance with the demand of Contumeliosus, he had appointed judges to examine into the decision of the bishops of Gaul, and that whilst waiting the result of their inquiries, that prelate should have permission to return to his church, but not to exercise any episco- pal functions. He ordered the council of the province to restore to him his own private property, in order that he might have the means of living; without, however, placing in his control the disposition of the property of the church, which should be managed by a visiting archdeacon. St. CoBsar of Aries then consulted the holy father on a point of discipline, which divided the bishops of Gaul, and demanded of him, if pa.stors had the right of •alienating the church funds in difficult circumstances. Aga- petus replied, that the constitutions prohibited this sort of alienation, and that he did not dare authorize an infringement of them: '• Do not think, adds the pope, that my councils are dictated by avarice or temporal interest ; but considering the terrible account which I must render to God of the flock which he has con- fided to my care, I seek to direct it into the way of eternal life, and cause it to observe the decisions of the last council." The assembly of which he spoke was buf a national synod, held in Italy, under the pon- tiff Symmachu.s. Agapetus, by declaring that lie is obliged to submit to the judgment of councils, condemns the ambition of the bishops of Rome, his successors, who have en- deavoured to elevate themselves even above universal councils. Animated by the most laudable intentions, the holy father established public schools, for the instruction of youth, and was occupied in exterminating the ignorance which had reached even to the highest ranks of society. Very different from his predecessors, he main- tained that the best dispositions, if not nou- rished by study, would insensibly alter, and frequently change into gross vices. The cele- brated Casiodorus joined with him to facili- tate this noble enterprise ; but war soon drew off their attention to other objects. Justinian had confided the command of his armies to Belisariu-s, a great captain and consummate tactician. The Grecian general pursued his conquests with surprising rapidity; wrested Africa from the Vandals, and was about to carry his victorious arms into Italy, where he spread terror among the Goths. Theodatus, affrighted at the march of the conqueror, thought of flying from his states, but yielding to the councils of his embassa- dors, who knew the stupid devotion of the emperor, he resolved to make religion sub- serve as the means of arresting the victori- ous progress of Belisarius. He ordered Aga- petus to go to Constantinople to negotiate a peace or a truce, threatening to put the Ro- mans to the sword if he failed in his mission. The holy father excused himself on account of his great age and extreme poverty, refusing to undertake so long a journey ; but new orders from the prince were accompanied with menaces so frightful, that the pope was ob- liged to obey. Agapetus, to defray the ex- penses of his suite, pawned the beautiful chalices, the sacred vessels of gold and silver enriched with precious stones, with which the piety of the faithful had ornamented the churches ; and upon these precious pledges, the money necessary for the journey was ob- tained. We should add, to the praise of Theo- datus, that on being informed of it, he reim- bursed the necessary funds, and restored to the churches all their ornaments. On his arrival in Greece, the pontiff", ac- cording to St. Gregory, performed an aston- ishing miracle, by curing a man who could neither walk nor stand up. We leave the particulars of this prodigy to the credulity of the legendaries. Epiphaus, the Catholic patriarch of Con- stantinople, had been dead about a year, and Anthimus, bishop of Trebizond, had been elevated to his place, through the irfluence of the empress Theodora. He was believed to be as orthodox as his predecessor; and this belief had procured for him the honour of being named commissary in the conferences with the Severite heretics. But Ephraim, patriarch of Antioch, who suspected him of secret concert with the Acephali, wrote to unmaskhim, and to publish manifestoes, which were scattered through the churches. He even addressed a petition to the emperor, to compel the new chief of the clergy of the capital to make a profession of the orthodox faith, in his synodical letters. Anthimus, in obedi- ence to the prince, made a declaration in conformity with the doctrines of the church, and sent it to the bishops of the East and West, who immediately admitted him to their communion. Nevertheless, his spirit of tole- rance, well known to the Acephali, deter- mined the chiefs of that sect, Severus of An- tioch, a prelate named Peter of Apamea. and a Syrian monk called Zora, to re-enter Con- stantinople. These heretics, at first, held their assemblies in private houses, whither the empress and Comita her sister, frequently went with their lovers, and a crowd of young lords of the court of Justinian. Their bold- ness increased with their success : they built temples, administered the sacraments, re- ceived offerings, and made numerous prose- lytes. The Catholic priests, who saAv their importance and their revenues daily dimin- ishing, complained to the emperor against Anthimus, and sent several deputies to meet the holy father, then on his route to that city, to prejudice him against the patriarch. Agapetus was received in Constantinople with great demonstrations of respect, which HISTORY OF THE POPES. 109 led him, on the very day of his entrance into the city, to abuse the tleference shown him, by reiusing to receive the patriarch Anthimus, whom the orthodox accused of favouring the Eutychians; and even without knowing his profession of faith, to reject him as an in- truder. This condemnable action is cited by the priests of the West, as an example of the supreme authority which the okl popes exer- cised : '-Thustlie pontiff alone,"' say they, •'•and without assembling any covmcij, deposed the bishop of New Rome." Father Doucin, although a Jesuit, admits that this example is badly chosen- for the deposition was of no eflect. '• He could not depose," adds he, " until after a legitimate election : and as the elevation of Anthimus to the patriarchate had not been recognized by the clergy of Rome, Agapetus had no need of a council to refuse him his communion. The pope and each patriarch had a right to act of himself, when the election of their colleagues appeared to be vicious, or even suspicious. In a like cir- cumstance no one could be ignorant of the causes which rendered Anthimus unworthy of the patriarchal see !" Severus, and all the Acephali, outraged at the pride of the pontiff, went immediately to the empress, to concert with her the method of destroying the bishop of Rome. They endeavoured to inspire Justinian with suspicion as to the belief of the pope, and to cause him to pass for a partisan of Nestorian- ism, as Ids predecessors had been accused of it. Notwithstanding his extreme devotion, the emperor listened to these accusations against Agapetus with the more attention, inasmuch as he was dissatisfied wdth the hauteur with which he had treated the patriarch, and the correction he had bestowed on himself. In the preceding year, when he had sent to Rome an edict witti his profession of faith, the holy father replied to him, "that every one should remain in his place, and that he could not ap- prove of the authority which a layman arro- giited to himself of publicly teaching the iaithiul." In this frame of mind the emperor pressed the pontiff with questions in relation to his doctrines ; not to satisfy his passion for reli- gious controversy, but to obtain proofs of his heresy. On the other hand, the bishops of the fac- tion of Severus, sent by the em])ress, did not cease to represent to Justinian, that the bishop of Rome was come to trouble the peace of the East: "Since the election of Anthimus, have you not seen, my lord," they said to him, "the Acephali perfectly well disposed, and ready to tio all that you demand of them] Severus himself promised freer clemency, to submit his doctrine to the judgment of the Roman church; but he did not expect to find on the throne of that churcli an old man as hard and inflexible as this one. Consider, my lord, on what all this scandal is founded ; upon a mere formality, which reduces itself to this, whether it is for the greatest good of the uni- versal church, that the city of Constantinople can dispense with Anthimus, or whether it prefers to give him the title of patriarch, rather than that of bishop." Justinian, convinced by the reasoning of the prelates, abandoned himself to his resent- ment against Agapetus, and at the iirst con- ference he had with the pontiff, said to him with emotion : '• I am detemiined to reject your unjust pretensions, holy father, and no longer to weigh them. Receive us to your communion, or prepare to go into exile." This threat did not alarm Agapetus, who replied boldly : " It is true, I deceived myself, my lord, when I was received by you with so much earnestness. I hoped to find a Christian emperor, and I have met with a new Diocle- tian. Well ! let Diocletian learn that the bishop of Rome does not fear his threats, and refuses to submit to his orders." The emperor, naturally good and devout, in place of punishing this temerity, changed the discourse ; and when the conversation had become more peaceful, the pope said to him ; •• To convince you that your pretended bishop is a very dangerous man to the cause of reli- gion, I beseech you to permit me to interro- gate him on the two natures of Jesus Christ. Be persuaded," added the wary priest, -that it is neither to shun exile, nor to seek an ac- commodation, that I propose to put him to this test, but that you may know the patriarch Anthimus." Justinian gave orders to the two adversa- ries to come before him, and the conference commenced. The pontiff broached the reli- gious questions on the mysteries of the incar- nation. He developed, at length, the points of theologj' which had reference to the ques- tion ; and when he had exhausted all the re- sources of controversy, he summoned the pa- triarch to recognize the orthodoxy of his doctrine. Anthimus replied to the arguments of the pontiff, and concluded by declaring that Jesus Christ did not possess two natures. Agapetus, in a fury, hurled anathemas ag-ainst Anthimus, Severus, Peter of Apama, Zora, and several other prelates, whose names would have rested in oblivion but for the ex- communication. Then he obtained from the monarch an order for the deposition of Anthi- mus, and consecrated the new patriarch of Constantinople. After having troubled the East for four months, the holy father was struck with an un- known malady, which carried him off in a few days. His funeral was celebrated with songs of gladness; and when his body was trans- ported to the cathedral, the porticoes, the public places, the windows and roofs of houses were encumbered with the multitude, who wished to look at him. Historians place the period of his death on the 25th of November, 536. They assure us that no patriarch, bishop, nor emperor, had been buried with .so great ])omp, and with so extraordinary a solemnity of fetes. The corpse was embalmed, placed in a leaden coffin; and transported to Rome. 110 HISTORY OF THE POPES, The priests exalt the virtues of this pope, i Liberatus, deacon of Carthage, represents him as a holy personage, endowed with profound wisdom and great skill, especially in ecclesi- astical matters. He however admits, that it was at his instigation that the bishop of Syria and the abbots of Constantinople rose against the emperor Justinian, and compelled him to proscribe Severus and his friends. He avows that the rebellious prelat(!s dared to threaten the emperor to extend the revolt to the pro- vinces ; and that the emperor, always at the solicitation of the pope, had the cowardice to make a decree, which prohibited the Ace- phali from entering into large cities ; enjoined on the magistrates to burn heretical books, and condemned those who transcribed them to have their hands cut off by the executioner. These avowals show into what deplorable excesses Justinian fell, by yielding to the coun- sel of the holy father. It results, from the narrative of the deacon, that Agapetus, who went as embassador from king Theodatus, only occupied himself with ecclesiastical affairs. How did he fulfil his political mission to the emperor ? How did he open the negotiations 1 With what address did he conduct them] What was his success? There is no reply. The pope did nothing. He only submitted to Justinian the subject of his embassy, without insisting on a favourable conclusion, foreseeing that the Roman clergy would be happier under the dominion of a Catholic prince, than under that of an Arian monarch. Not only was Agapetus perjured to his prince, but even to his religion, by troubling the repose of the Eastern churches, and by showing a base jealousy against a pre- late, whose only crime consisted in having dared to compare his see with that of the bishop of Rome. SILVERUS, THE SIXTIETH POPE. [A. D. 536. — Justinian, Emperor of the East.] Intrigues at Rome to obtain dignities — Silverus buys the pontificate from king Theodatus — Trea- son of the pope — He delivers Rome to Belisarius — He is deposed and shut up in a monastery. The intrigues by which the sovereign pon- tificate was obtained; recall the transactions in pagan Rome, when those who aspired to office in the republic bought the suffrages of the people : '• Instead of a wise discretion, a disinterested equity, and a true elevation in sentiment, the chair of St. Peter was become the price of boldness, corruption and avarice." The pretenders marched openly to their end, offering gold to some, dignities to others — pledging the property of the church to those who had no confidence in their promises, and setting to work all the seductions which could augment the number of their creatures. Priests Sold their suffrages ; cabals strug- gled, raised upon their competitors, and carried off the partisans of their adversaries ; and at length victory remained with the richest, the most skilful, or the most corrupt. In the midst of these scandalous intrigues and criminal practices, Silverus, son of the former pope Hormsidas. led away by the am- bition of occupying the chair of St. Peter, offered a considerable sum to king Theodatus, and was chosen pontiff of Rome. Anastasius, the librarian, furnishes the most authentic documents in relation to this dis- graceful proceeding, on which Baillet and Dupin have endeavoured to throw doubts. But father Doucin himself is convinced of the infamy of Silverus, and deplores the con- du(^t of the holy father. The election of this pope was a master- stroke of policy. The king, fearing to be driven from Italy by the victorious army of Belisa- rius, wished to assure himself of the fidelity of the Romans, by giving them a bishop de- voted to his interest, and who had need of his aid to maintain himself on the Holy See. Neither the clergy nor the people were per- mitted to deliberate on this election. Theo- datus merely announced to the Romans, that those who should dare to nominate another bishop, must prepare to die. Then Silverus took upon himself the government of the church, and fear of punishment constrained the people to recognize him. Some ecclesi- astics alone refused to sign the decree of the election ; lime passed on, however, and they soon ranged themselves under the orders of the new pope. But Theodatus was deceived in his hopes. The traitor Silverus, practising on this maxim of the priests, "it is permitted to break faith with heretics," betrayed his benefactor, and opened the gates of Rome to Belisarius. Justinian, become master of the ancient capital of the world, revived the religious quarrels which had taken place during the pontificate of Agapetus. The empress Theo- dora, who was favourable to the Acephaji in the East, wrote to the pope, to prevail on him to re-establish the patriarch Anthimus, and to drive Mennas from the see of Constantinople. At the same time Belisarius received orders to engage Silverus to subscribe to his projects; and in case of refusal he was enjoined to accuse the pontiff' of having maintained secret intelligence with the Goths, and of having desired, by a new treason, to deliver up the city to them. The holy father was sent for to the palace. Belisarius, and his wife Anto- HISTORY OF THE POPES. 11, nina, the confidant of the empress, informed him of the orders they had received, and en- deavoured to induce him to obey, by denounc- ing the council of Chalcedon, and approving, in writing, the behef of the Acephaii. Silverus, placed between two perils, having on the one side to fear the anger of the prince, and on the other the vengeance of the clergy, demanded pemnission to assemble his council. The priests decided unanimously against the proposition, and threatened him with deposi- tion as a traitor and prevaricator, if he should obey the orders of their enemies. Then, ruled b}' fear, he refused to yield to the demand of Belisariusj and to shun the vengeance of the Greeks, sought refuge in the church of St. Maria Sabina. Belisarius publicly accused him of perfidy toward the emperor, and produced as wit- nesses an advocate named Mark, and a sol- dier of the Praetorian guard, who affirmed that they had remitted letters for him, addressed to Vitiges, king of the Goths. They summoned the pontitT to appear a second time at the im- perial palace, promising him, under oath, not to deprive him of his liberty. Silverus yield- ed to the invitation of the Grecian general, and after a conference was reconducted to the church in which he had established his retreat. Having been commanded to appear a third time before Belisarius, he learned that his enemies wished to surprise him, and that it would be impossible for him to resist much longer. His conjectures were correct ; for the em- press had written to hold him as a pledge. She besought him instantly to re-establish Anthimus, or to come to examine the cause of this patriarch, unjustly condemned. Silve- rus, after reading this letter, heaved a deep sigh. "Behold," says he, "that which in- forms me that I have not a longtime to live." He then went to the Grecian general. Those who accompanied him were arrested ; some at the entrance of the saloon, others at the door of the antechamber; and Silverus was introduced into the apartment of Anto- nina, who was still in bed. " Trul}', my lord bishop," she said to him, "I know not what we have done to you, and you Romans, to caui^e you to deliver us, as you have essayed to do, into the hands of the barbarians. PIea.se advise us of your motives." The pon- tiff had no long time given him to reply. A sub-deacon entered quickly, and tore' from him his mantle ; then having taken him into an adjoining ajiartment, they despoiled him of his marks of dignity, and clothed him in the garb of a monk. After this ceremony, another sub-deacon entered the antechamber, where the clergy- remained, and said to them, " My brethren, we have no longer a pope ; he has been de- posed, and condemned to do penance in a monastery." Alarmed at this news, they all fled precipitately, leaving the holy father in the hands of his enemies. Belisarius then occupied himself in having the priest Vigilius, who had been long ambi- tious of the honours of the episcopate, chosen. We pass on to the following reign, before speaking of the death of the unfortunate Sil- verus. VIGILIUS, THE SIXTY-FIRST POPE. [A. D. 537. — Justinian, Emperor of the East.] Character of Vigilius — His vices — He sivears to obey the orders of Theodora — The empress compels him to give seven hundred pieces of gold to buy the votes of the clergy — Election of Vigilius — Silverus exiled to Patera, obtains from the emperor permission to return to Rome — The pope seizes him and condemns him to be starved to death on a desert island — Roguery of Vigdius — He becomes suspected by the emperor — King Theodebert consults the pope on the validity of his marriage irith a sister-in-lair — Fanaticism of the emperor Justinian — His dis- cussions ivith the pontiff — He orders Vigilius to go to Constantinople to assist at a council — The pope insulted by the people of Rome — Anathemas against the Acephaii — The pope con- demns the three chapters — Bad faith of Fleury in his ecclesiastical history — Contradictions of Vigilius — He is excommunicated by a council — Excites disorders at Constantinople — Con- strained to take refuge in a church — His hypocrisy — Returns to his palace — 7,s dragscd throuo-h the streets of Constantinople ivith a cord about his neck — Escapes to the palace of Placidius — Is sent into exile — His recantation — Knavery of the Jesuits — Death of the pope — This mon- ster, soiled with crimes, has found apologists who have made a martyr of him. Vigilius was a Roman by birth, and the son of a consul named John. During the pon- tificate of Boni f:i ce the Second, he had obtained a decree which assured to him the chair of St. Peter; but the clergy opposed this scan- dalous sti^p. and his hopes were blasted. This check did not discourage Vigilius; obstacles excited his enterprising spirit, and he pur- sued his intrigues with more vigour than before. History represents him as a man of unmea- sured ambition, capable of committing all crimes, to elevate himself to power. "His character," writes an author of that day, "was violent and passionate ; in a burst of rage he killed with blows, with a club, a young child 112 HISTORY OF THE POPES. who refused his infamous caresses. He was so avaricious that he dared to avow, that if he had broken off his relations with the em- press, it was less through zeal for religion, than not to be obliged to restore the money she had it-nt him to aid him in his election as pope." Besides, the course of his life was a long train of perfidy, debauchery and crime • and yet the priests have placed this monster among the saints of the church ! Vigdius had accompanied pope Ag'apetus on his journey to Constantinople. After the death of the pontiff the empress demanded from the young priest, if he would consent to reverse ail the decrees of Agapetus, to con- demn the council of Constantinople which was about closing; to depose Mennas, and reinstate in their sees Anthimus, Severns, and Timothy ; and finally excommunicate the three chapters, the council of Chalcedon, and the famous letter of St. Leo. None of these propositions frightened the ambitious Vigilius ; and he swore to obey the orders of the empress, if he was elected pope. She counted out to him immediately seven hundred pieces of gold, on the security of his note, by which he promised* to restore this sum when he should be master of the trea- sures of the church. Then letters were sent forward to Belisarius, to whom the empress recommended the deacon Vigilius as the suc- cessor of Agapetus. All these precautions assured him success ; but on his arrival at Naples he learned that the Romans had already received a pontiff whom king Theodatus had imposed upon them. This new check did not stop Vigi- lius in his projects. He first studied calmly the obstacles which opposed themselves to his elevation, and calculated the chances which remained of overthrowing a man rejected by the clergy, as being the creature of the Goths, the enemies of the empire. Then he informed the emi)ress of his hopes, and besought her to second his etlorts. The princess wrote to Belisarius, ordering him to examine all the plans of Vigilius, and to excite complaints against Silterus, that he might be deposed. "If you cannot succeed," added she, ''arrest him, and send him to Constantinople without any delay, for we send you a priest, of whose devotion we are assured, and who is bound to reinstall Anthimus, and cause the Acephali to triumph." Belisarius feared that the execution of this enterprise might produce confusion in Rome, and bring" about a dangerous schism. Not being entirely confimied in his conquest, he did not wish to expose himself to the danger of losing, in a moment, the glory which he had acquired by the defeat of the Vandals and Goths. But his wife, who had a great ascendancy over him. determined to execute the orders of the princess, and the result was the deposition of Silverus, and the shameful election of Vigilius. In obedience to the command of the Gre- cian general, the clergy assembled to choose a successor to the deposed pontifl'. They first agitated the question, whether the Holy See was to be regarded as vacant. Their sufi rages having been paid for in advance, it was de- cided in the affirmative. Some then wished to exclude Vigilius. and protested against hia pretensions. Their small number caused them to be treated with contempt ; and those who had been bought proceeded without delay to the consecration of the new pope. Vigilius also exacted that the unfortunate Silverus should be placed in his charge, under the pretext that he was bound to answer for the tranquillity of the city. He banished him from Rome, and sent him under safe custody to Patera in Lycia. Contrary to his expecta- tion, the bishop of the country received his prisoner as a confessor ; and not only did he render him the honours due to the pontiff, but even undertook to reinstall him in his see. For this purpose he made a journey to Con- stantinople, represented loudly to the emperor the injustice of the condemnation of Silverus, and obtained from the prince the promise that the accused should return to Rome to imdergo a new trial. Justinian pledged himself, that if he was innocent of the treason of which he had been accused, he would replace him on the pontifical chair ; and that if he were guilty, he would only banish him from Rome, without degrading him. But the empress Theodora had too much interest in maintaining Vigilius in his usur- pation, to permit that the will of the emperor should be executed ; and on his side, Vigilius was too active to sleep in the midst of the dangers that threatened him. He then Avrote to Belisarius, that he could not pay the sum agreed upon, unless his adversary w ere placed in his hands as an hostage. Silverus was then taken from his retreat, and placed in the hands of the infamous Vigilius, who caused him to be conducted by his ferocious satellites to a desert island, called Palmaria, where those were exiled whom it was desirable to put to death promptly and quietly. The executioners, whom Vigilius called the defenders of the holy church, executed the orders which they had received, which en- joined them to put an end to their prisoner promptly. The unfortunate Silverus was de- prived of food duringnine entire days, and ashis death did not happen as fast as the impatience of the priests who guarded him required, they strangled him and returned to Rome. Such was the punishment of the crime of which Silverus had been guilty, that of usurping the first see of the church. The clergy remained uncertain for fiA^e days as to the choice of a pope. The distribution of money at last united their sutlrages upon Vigilius ; and after some days of intrigue he was recognized as the most worthy to occupy the chair of St. Peter. The priests proceeded to his exaltation notwithstamling the anathema of him by Silverus, and notwithstanding the frightful complication of crimes and roguery which he had put in execution to reach the pontificate. Even after the death of his predecessor HISTORY OF THE POPES. 113 Vigillus found himself placed in a very diffi- cult position. On the one side the Roman clergy pressed him to condemn the Acephali ; and on the other, the empress imperiously demanded the execution ol his promises. In order to avoid the inost imminent peril, his holiness remitted to Antonina, the wife of Beli- sarius, and who was regarded as the favourite of the empress, several letters destined for Theodosius of Alexandria, Anthimus of Con- stantinople, and Severus of Antioch, in M-hich he declared that he professed the same faith a? they. At the same time he besought them to keep his letters secret until he was con- firmed in his authority ; and he recommended to them to avoid suspicion, by saying openly, that the bishop of Rome was suspected by them. In the confession of faith which he sent to them he rejected the two natures in Jesus Christ, refuted the letter of St. Leo, and de- clared those excommunicated who did not believe in one person and one essence. It is thence incontestable that Vigilius was an apostate priest, and a hypocritical pontilf; for at the same time that he approved of the opin- ions of the Acephali in a letter secretly written to tht-m. he made a public profession of the faith of the orthodox. Justinian, irritated because Vigilius had not written to him on his entrance to the pontili- cate, interpreted unfavourably his silence, and sent into Italy the patrician Dominicus, with letters expressing suspicions of the pope. The embassador was besides charged to summon him to explain the relations he was accused of entertaining with the heretics. In his reply, Vigilius passed a high eulogium to the prince on the purity of his sentiments : he declared to him that his belief was that of his prede- cessors, Celestin, Leo, Hormsidas, John, and Agapetus ; that he acknowledged the four councils, and the letter of Leo ; and that he anathematized all who held contrary opinions ; lastly, he besought the emptiror to prc^serve the privileges of the Holy See, and to send him as embassadors irreproachable Catholics. His holiness also wrote to the patriarch Men- nas, to congratulate him on having performed the promises he made to pope Agapetus, be- fore his ordination, in acknowledging the four councils, and in excommunicating schis- matics. Profuturus, bishop of Braga, in Lu.sitania, consulted Viirilius upon several points of dis- cipline. The holy father, in his reply, con- demned the Priscillians, who abstained from flesh. Since that period the church herself has introduced this superstition among the faithful. He expresses himself at length on the mode of converting the Arians, and on the consecration of churches; he recommends them to celebrate the mass in the new tem- ples, and prohibits the use of holy water in the ceremonies. Theoilobert, king of Austrasia, who had 6ent troops into Italy during the war between the Romans and the Goths, also consulted Vi- giliuson the penance which should be imposed Vol. I. P on a man who had espoused the wife nf his brother. The pope replied to the king, and at the same time wrote to St. Ccesar of Aries, that he should inform himself of the fact, and of the disposition of the penitent, in order to advise king Theodobert of the time neces- sary for such repentance, and to beseech him to prevent like disorders in future. The mo- tives which induced him to send back this affair to St. Ccesar. are remarkable : '• We ought," said he, "to commit to bishops of provinces the measure of repentance, that they may be enabled to grant indulgence ac- cording to the compunction of the penitent." Justinian, as he advanced in age, abandoned himself more and more to religious fanati- cism, and to his passion for controversy. He composed a crowd of works on theology. But in wishing to fathom the mysteries of religion, he finished by insensibly departing from the orthodox principles which he had professed. He published edicts condemning the three chapters of Theodorus of JMopsuesta, the letter of Ibas, the writings of Theodoret, and luially the twelve anathemas of St. Cyril. The edicts of the emperor were received by all the bishops in the East ; and Vigilius alone, ruled by the Roman clergy, opposed the propagation of his principles in the West. Irritated by the obstinacy of the pontiff, the prince resolveil to submit the questions to a general council. He wrote to Vigilius to inform him of the convocation of a synod, and to order him to come without delay to Con- stantinople The popes have always dreaded general councils, especially when they were held be- yond their jurisdiction. Thus the holy father made every effort to change the determination of the emperor, or at least to avoid appearing at the council. Justinian was inflexible; and new orders compelled the pontiff to obey. Before his departure the clergy excited se- ditions among the people, and gave him a foretaste of the fate which would attend him at Rome, if he should abandon the interests of religion. On the very day on which he quitted the city, the monks .stoned him, and heaped maledictions and insults on him. Not- withstanding, Vigilius, desiring to conciliate them again.st his return, landed in Sicily and purchased grain, which he sent to Rome, to be distributed to the people in his name; after which he continued his route to Con- stantinople. The emperor and the bishops who were at his court, received the holy father with great honours, and after the usual ceremonie.s, the council openetl. At the very first coidcrence, Vigilius, having declared that IMennas and Theodorus were excluded from his communion in con.sequence of their support of the prin- ciples of Justinian, the prince let loose his anger, and ordered the guards to tear from his throne the unworthy priest whose presence dishonoured the as.sembly. It was done at once, notwithstanding the entreaties of the empress, who besought her husband to sus- pend his vengeance. 114 HISTORY OF THE POPES. This princess, who was constantly studying over her project of driving away Mennas to reinstall Anthimus on the see of Constantino- ple, hoped that the pope would resolve to fulfil the promises he had before made to her on this important affair. Vigilius, who had the threats of the clergy of Rome always before him, refused to ratify his old engagements, and preferred reconciling himself with Men- nas j on the condition, however, that the pa- triarch should subscribe to all that the Latin bishops should determine in the matter of the three chapters. Theodorus of Cesarea, also made his peace by accepting the same conditions. Still, in order to show that his reconciliation with these two prelates should not be taken as a decla- ration in favour of the Eutychians and Ace- phali, Vigilius solemnly excommunicated the followers of the heresy. This first mark of deference did not entirely satisfy Justinian, who was willing that Vigi- lius should condemn the three articles. The pontiff" then protested against the violence which had been used towards him, and refused to make any detennination without the con- sent of the Latin bishops. On his side, the emperor preserved no restraint towards the holy father ; and matters were carried so far, that the pope one day said, in a full assembly, *' I perceive that I am regarded here as a slave, whom you think you have a right to eat. It is true that I am in chains ; but recol- lect that Peter, whose place I occupy, has lost none of his liberty." On another occasion he recalled to the prince the words of Agapetus : " I thought I was coming to the court of a Christian em- peror, and I find myself in that of Diocletian, the most cruel of tyrants." The firmness of the pontiff" bent the emperor, and he permitted the bishops to assemble to deliberate on the aff"air of the three articles. Seventy prelates then assembled, when the pope declared the council dissolved, before they had arrived at any decision. The fathers received orders to give their opinions in writ- ing, and he sent the bulletins to the palace of the emperor. After some days. Vigilius himself gave his own opinion, which was in condem- nation of the three chapters, without prejudice to the council of Chalcedon. Fleury has main- tained that this last clause was a question of fact, in which the church was not interested. Such an insinuation can only show prodigious ignorance or Avonderful bad faith ; for the af- fair of the three chapters was so important for religion, that a large number of bishops separated themselves from the coinmunion of Vigilius because he had condemned them. Nevertheless, the judgment of the pontiff contented neither the Acephali nor the ortho- dox, who regarded it as a mark of the apos- tacy of the pope. Dacius, bishop of Milan, who was the last who remained attached to his fortunes, abandoned him, and refused to take part in the new constitution. Two of his deacons, Rusticus and Sebastian, followed the same example, and published through the provinces, that the pope had abandoned the council of Chalcedon. Vigilius, always contradicting himself in his measures, gave utterance to the sentiments of the orthodox, and favoured the heretics, as the interests of his grandeur demanded. On the other hand, the defenders of the three chap- ters remained ih'm in their belief. They held a synod in Illyria, at which they condemned Benenanatus, bishop of the first Justinianea. The following year, the prelates of Africa assembled in council, showed still more rigour. They excommunicated the holy father as a traitor and apostate, undertook the defence of the doctrine of the three chapters, and sent their letters to the emperor by Olympius Ma- gistrian. At length Vigilius, comprehending that his tortuous policy had not succeeded in deceiving either party, consented to receive the three chapters, and proposed a general council to terminate the difficulty. Theodore Ascidas, bishop of Csesarea, pro- foundly afflicted by the disorders and sedi- tions which all these disputes excited in the empire, cast himself at the feet of Justinian, and in the name of the clergy addressed to him this discourse: "Is it not a shameful thing, my lord, that the master of the universe, after having reduced so many different na- tions, should be so reduced as to bend before the caprice of a priest who knows not his own mind ? Vigilius said yesterday : ' I anathema- tize all who do not condemn the three articles ! ' To day, he says, '■ I anathematize whomsoever condemns them!' And, under pretext of re- serving them for the judgment of a council, he dares, on his own authority, to reverse the edicts of the emperor, and impose his belief even on Constantinople. The whole world knows your great piety ; your edicts have been received by all the churches ! And now, what will people think, when they see a stranger reverse, by a single word, acts so solemn in your own presence, in contempt df four pa- triarchs and a great number of bishops, who have come together at your bidding, to cause the edicts to be executed ? What has become of your authority, great prince, if you cannot command your subjects until they have re- ceived the peimission of Vigilius? What would the empress, that virtuous princess, whose recent loss we mourn, say, if she saw Justinian so far abase his royal dignity, as publicly to be contradicted by a proud priest ?" This harangue changed the disposition of the emperor. The edict against the three chapters was put in force, and sustained by the writings of Theodore, who had conducted the affair with .so much address. On this oc- casion Vigilius wished to address his com- plaints to Justinian ; but the prince refused to hear him. He threatened with excommuni- cation those who should dare to break his orders. They replied to his menaces, by af- fixing the edict in all the churches. Then the rage of the pontiff" vented itself in impre- cations. They despised his outrages as they had his threats. Pushed to an extreme, he HISTORY OF THE POPES. 115 convoked, in the palace of Placidius, all the i bishops who were in Constantinople, the dea- ' cons, and even the inferior clergy. He pro- [ tested, in their presence, against the mea- ' sures of the emperor, ana launched terrible anathemas against those who followetl the ' doctrine of the three chapters, and did not , submit to the decision of the Western bishops, i They no longer preserved any circumspec- | tion, and both parties delivered themselves ■ up to all the fury of fanaticism. The pope, not thinking himself in safety in the palace j of Placidius, took refuge in the chuich of St. Peter, where he composed the famous decree i of excommunication against Theodore, Men- nas, and their adherents. Still he kept it secret, to manage still some means of safety, and confided it to a monk to publish it, in case they menaced his life or liberty. The emperor refused to consider the church of St. Peter an inviolable asylum for a crimi- nal and audacious priest, who dared to brave him even on his throne. He ordered the pra'tor, charged with arresting robbers and murderers, to draw Vigilius from his retreat, and sent the ordinary officer of justice, with a detachment of soldiers, as his guard. The troop having penetrated into the church with drawn swords and bended bows, ad- vanced to seize the pope, who was concealed under the high altar, the pillars of which he embraced. Then the praetor, on the refusal of the pontiff to obey the orders of the prince, was obliged to employ violence. He ordered the soldiers to drive out the deacons and clerks with blows of their halberds, and to bring forth the holy father from his sanctuary ; drawing him by the feet, the hair and the beard. As Vigilius was large and vigorous, he broke two pillars of the altar in the strug- gle ; so that, ludess the clerks had upheld the holy table, it would have fallen upon him and crushed him. But, during the arrest, the peo- ple, excited to revolt by the priests, assembled in array, attacked the prtetor with fury, drove the troops from the church, and maintained Vigilius in his asylum. Justinian, in his turn, was obliged to pro- pose terms of accommodation. Three persons of the court came, in his name, to represent to the pontiff that, in taking refuge in a church, lie had committed an outrage on the emperoi-, whom he aj)peared to regard as a tyrant. They engaged him to repress the fanaticism of his priests, who incited revolts, and desig- nated tne prince to the vengeance of the jieo- ))le. They warned him that if he should do otherwise, .lustinian, to put an end to the dis- orders, would be compelled to employ more violent means, and to besiege the church of St. Peter. Finally, they promised the pontifi', if he would consent to go to the palace of Pla- cidius, to give all the guaranties and sur(>ties he should require. Vigilius replied, that he would yield to their wishes, on condition that they should force neither him nor his to ap- prove of articles of failh which their con- science rejected. Justinian consented to take this solemn engagement, but the proud pontiff demanded to prescribe the terms, and the clauses of the oath. It was then signified to him, that if he were unwilling to accept the conditions offered him, he would be taken from the church by soldiers, and condemned to finish his days in a dungeon. This threat determined him to return to the palace of Placidius. Scarcely was he installed in his old resi- dence, when, in contempt of the pledged word, the holy father was overwhelmed with out- rtages, and exposed to the most infamous treat- ment. The officers of the emperor tore him from the palace, and led him through the streets of the city, and striking him on the cheek, said to the people, " Behold the chas- tisement with which our most illustrious em- peror punishes this rebellious and obstinate priest ; this odious pontiff, who strangled the unfortunate Silverus; this infamous sodomite, who killed with a club a poor child who re- sisted him." After this ceremony he was reconducted to the palace, and guarded as a prisoner by the soldiers of the prince. Two days before Christmas he managed to deceive the vigilance of those who g-uarded him. He climbed, during the night, a small wall which had been constructed around his prison, fled from Constantinople, and took refuge in the church of St. Euphemia of Chal- cedon. To escape the wrath of the emperor^ he feigned to have fallen dangerously sick. As soon as Justinian was apprised of the flight of Vigilius, he sent several persons of distinction to induce him to leave St. Euphe- mia, and return to Constantinople, where he should receive all the satisfaction he desired. This time the pope rejected the ad^-ances of the prince, and threatened him with deciding, on his own authority, the religious question of the three chapters, if he should refuse to submit to the judgment of a council of bishops of the West. In fact, he made a decree, which he called a constitution, to distinguish it from the former judgment ; and in this bull, addressed to the emperor, he revoked the anathemas he had before launched against those who adopted the three chapters. Another proof that the Holy See is not infallible. Notwithstanding the absence of Vigilius, and his declared opposition, the fifth council of Constantinople continued its deliberations, condemned the three chapters, and rejected the pretensions of the pope as outraging the liberty of tht^ church. It results from these debates between the bishops of the East and the holy fathiM", that the councils of the first ages examined, frequently even rejected and condemned, the decisions of the sovereign pontiff. An evident proof that thev did not legard his decisions as clothed with the cha- racter of infallibility. Cardinal Baronins has wished to contest the authority of the council of Constantinople ; but cardinal Novis has ajiologized for it in a beautiful and learned historical dissertation, in which he notices several errors of father Hallois. It is true that an impartial author would have deduced from it consequences 116 HISTORY OF THE POPES. still more unfavourable to the Holy See ; never- theless, it is curious to see an adorer of the Roman purple, a cardinal, avow that the deci- sion of a pope had been condemned by an CEcumenical council. The three chapters having been anathema- tized, Vigilius was pressed to subscribe to the judgment of the fathers ; and on his refusal, the emperor condemned him to exile. His do- mestics were taken from him ; the bishops, priests, and deacons of his party were dis- persed in the desert, and the pope was aban- doned, during six entire months, without any assistance, to the pains of the gravel, a disease from which he had suffered constantly during his seven years sojourn in Constantinople. Theodore of Ceesarea, guided by honoura- ble sentiments, and desirous of elevating to the Holy See a venerable man, announced that Vigilius was declared a heretic, and urged upon the Romans to choose another pope; but by one of those eccentricities of the human mind which we see, without the power of explaining, he found the contempt they had so long borne for the pope was changed into respect and veneration. The Roman clergy and people regarded him as a confessor of the faith of Jesus Christ, banished and persecuted for the defence of his church ; and they refused to nominate a new pontilT, notwithstanding the order of Narses, who commanded for the emperor in Italy. At length the holy father was tired of exile. The evils which he sutfered. surmounted the terror with which the Latin bishops inspired him, and he declared that he gave his approval to the council. We should add, that this tardy resolution was inspired through fear of seeing elevated to the see of St. Peter the famous deacon Pelagius, who, after having defended the three chapters, had made his submission, and had engaged to execute the will of the prince. Vigilius wrote a letter to the patriarch £u- tychius, in which he admitted himself to have been wanting in charity in separating from his brethren. He adds, that we .should never be ashamed of retracting when we have fallen into error. He cites the example of St. Au- gustin, and thus terminates his letter : '-We advise the whole Catholic church, that we condemn and anathematize Theodore of Mop- suesta, and his impious writings, as well as all other heretics; the works of Theodoret against St. Cyril, against the council Ephesus, and those who have written in favour of Theo- dore and Nestorius, as well as the letter to Maris the Persian, which is attributed to Ibas. We submit to the same excommunica- tion, those who maintain and defend the chap- ters, or who shall undertake to do so. We recognize as our brethren and colleag-ues those who condemn them, and we reverse, by this new bull, all that has been done by ourselves or others, in defence of the three chapters." The letter of Vigilius is still found in Gre- cian works; but the sacred historians have judged it prudent to leave it in oblivion. There remains only in Latin a constitution, much more in detail, in which the holy father condemns the three chapters. He confesses that the letter of St. Leo was not approved by the council of Chalcedon, until after it had been e.xamined and found conformable with the faith of preceding councils; a very important avowal, which the priests now deny. Thus the pontiff accomplished this great iniquity, and solemnly condemned the memory of prelates who had died in the peace of the church. The testimony of nine Grecian, Latin, and Arabian authors, several of whom wrote dur- ing the reign of Justinian, guarantees the au- thenticity of these facts. We will refer those who doubt the accuracy of history, to con- vince them of the infamy of the holy father, to the very terms of the sixth general councilj of which we relate the substance. " The emperor Marcian approved of the letter of St. Leo; Anatolius, bishop of Con- stantinople, also approved of it; and it was generally received by all the council of Chal- cedon, which condemned the sentiments of Eutyches. Vigilius so understood it also, with the emperor Justinian, and the fifth council was convoked to anathematize the abomina- ble libels which were secretly spread abroad." All this testimony shows that Vigilius for- mally condemned the three chapters, and ap- proved of the council of Constantinople, that he might obtain permission to return to Rome, and remount the Holy See. Before his depar- ture he obtained from Justinian a decree in favour of Italy, in which the prince confirms all the donations made to the Romans by Athalaric, Almasontus and Theodatus, and revoked those of Totila. He also declared that the marriages of ecclesiastics with vir- gins consecrated to God, were null in the eye of the law. At this period they were unused to celibacy, and the priests even mar- ried nuns. Vigilius was returning to Rome to weigh down the people under a yoke of despotism and terror. Happily he did not realize the reveries of his ambition. During his journey, a poisoned beverage was given to him, and he died at Syracuse in the beginning of the year 555, after having held the Holy See for eigh- teen years and a half, carrying with him to his tomb the hatred of the Latins and the exe- cration of the Greeks. His body was carried to Rome, and interred in the church of St. Marcellus. The ancient martyrologists ranked him among the saints, with the title of martyr; but the church has not confinned this canoni- zation. The holy father, elevated to his greatness by an odious murder, underwent in the course of his pontificate incredible sufferings, with- out even exciting compassion. His history ia a long catalogue of horrors and abominations. A knave, a miser, a suborner, and an assassin, Vigilius died, abusing religion and deceiving men. HISTORY OF THE POPES, 117 PELAGIUS THE FIRST, SIXTY-SECOND POPE. [A. D. 557. — Justinian, Emperor of the East; and Childeeert, King of France.] Birth of Pelas,ms — •S'ee of Rome — Politics of Pelagius — Pillage of Rome by Tolila, king of the Goths — Pelagius goes to Constantinople — His fanaticism against the Orige7iistes — Violent disputes between Pelagius and Theodore of Alexandria — Pelagius usurps the sovereign ponti- ficate— The priests accuse him of poisoning Vigilius — The bishops refuse to consecrate him — Pelagius purges himself, by oath, of the crimes imputed to him — He distributes great largesses among the people vnth the money brought from Constantinople by his predecessor — The holy father excites Narses to persecute the heretics — Refections upon the genius of persecution, which has alirays di.'^tinguishcd Catholicism — Pelagius sends relics to king Childebert — Coun- cil of Paris — Death of the sovereign pontiff. Pelagius was by birth a Roman, and the son of John, an ancient vicar of the prefecture. When Vigihus was compelled to leave Rome to go to Constantinople by command of Justi- nian, he sent from Sicily several vessels laden with grain, to lighten the sutlerings of the people ; but as the Goths were then be- sieging the city, the vessels were captured at Porto, and Rome continued in a state of fa- mine. Pelagius. Mho had already made his preparations to become the sovereign pontiff, seized upon this occasion to increase his po- pularity. He bought from the Goths the grain they had captured, and distributed it to the poor and sick. The Romans, in gratitude, named him chief of an embassy charged with demanding from the king of the Goths a truce of some days, at the end of which they would surrender at discretion, unless relieved from Constantinople. Totila refused to listen to the offers of the Roman deputies — their embassy having put him in possession of their desperate situation — pushed the siege with vigour, and three days after stormed the city. Above all things, the barbarian wished to enter the church of St. Peter, "to render," as he said, "solemn thanks to God for the success of his army." Pela- gius received him at the head of the clergy, holding the Bible in his hands. He prostrated himself at the feet of the king, whilst the priests exclaimed, in mournful tones, " My Lord, spare your own ! The God of armies has submitted us to your authority. Spare your subjects." Totila listened to their entreaties. He prohibited the Goths from continuing their massacres or violating females, and only per- mitted them to pluniler. He broke down the walls of the city, and destroyed many fine buildings. The sack of Rome contiinied forty days, and the Goths retired from this expedi- tion on the receipt of the intelligence that Be- lisarius was coming, with a powerful army, to the succour of Italy. Pelagius was then sent by the clergy to Constantinople, to have a surveillance over Vigilius. He obtained at the court of Justi- nian the title of the nuncio of the church of Rome, and was honoured with the confidence of that prince. Soon after the emperor sent him to Gaza with Ephraim of Antioch, Peter of Jerusalem, and Hippacius of Ephesus, to carry the pallium to Paul of Alexandria, and to consecrate there Zoilus patriarch of that city. He acquitted himself faithfully in his mis- sion, and returned to Constantinople the fol- lowing month. During his sojourn in that cit}', several monks presented to him extracts from the writings of Origen, whence they wished to obtain from the emperor the condemnation of the monks of New Lama, who had adopted the singular opinions of this father of the Greek church, and who excited trouble in the convents of Palestine. Pelagius, who was the avowed enemy of Theodore of Cappadocia, the partisan of Origen, and who had constantly opposed his intrigues for the pontificate, hast- ened to seize this opportunity of avenging himself. He joined himself to Mennas, the patriarch of Constantinople, to obtain from the emperor an assent to the request of the monks of Palestine, to condemn the heretics. But his attempts were frustrated by Justinian, who published the famous edict on the three chap- ters, composed by Theodore of Cappadocia. Pelagius, foiled in his revenge, excited against this decree all the Catholics whom he could find ready to second him. Thanks to the nuncio, the scandals and disorders were so great, that the bishop Theodore said, " that Pelagius and himself deserved to be burned alive, for having excited in the church so violent disputes, and for having made use of religion, that mantle which covers all sins, to gratify their feelings of hatred and jea- lousy." Pelagius was condemned to exile, and did not obtain his pardon from the emperor until after he had subscribed to the edict, and made his submission to the council. Justinian then restored him to his favour, and promised to cause him to be consecrated bishop of Rome after the death of Vigilius. At length, the sovereign pontiff, having ob- tained permission to return to Italy, Pelagius demanded penni.ssion to accompany him on his journey, and we know that Vigilius died at Syracuse from the etfects of a poisoned beverage ! Pelagius immediately clothed him- self with the pontifical mantle, and without waiting the result of a reafular election, de- clared himself bishop of Rome, by the autho- rity of the emperor Justinian. Neverlh<'lcss, on his arrival in the holy city, the bishops re- fused to ratify his usurpation, and publicly accused him of the death of his predecessor. The Roman cleriry, the religiousorders,and the people refused the communion of the pontiff. 118 HISTORY" OF THE POPES. and he found but three priests who consented to proceed with his ordination. In tliis general abandonment, Pelagius ad- dressed himself to the patrician Narses, and demanded his protection. The latter, in order to obey the orders of his prince, consented to sustain the new pope. He ordained a solemn procession, in which he displayed all the luxury and all the pomp of great ceremonies, in order to attract a crowd. The procession, starting from the church of St. Pancras, directed its route towards that of St. Peter. When it had arrived in the in- terior of this church, the holy father took the Gospels in one hand, the cross in the other, placed them above his head, and in this posi- tion he mounted the pulpit, in order to be seen by the whole assembly. Then he pro- tested his innocence, took God as his witness, and swore by the holy mysteries and the body of Jesus Christ, that he was not culpable of the death of Vigilius, and that he had not aided at all in the sufferings he had under- gone at Constantinople. He besought the faith- ful to unite with him to put an end to the disorders which existed in the church, and demanded from them their children, in order to increase the number of the clergy. Pelagius then created new otficers, and made great largesses to the people, with the money which Vigilius had brought with him from Constantinople. Nevertheless, the schism was not healed. The supporters of the three chapters were numerous, especially in Tus- cany, Lombardy, and the other provinces. They did not pardon the holy father for having subscribed to the acts of the fifth council, and for having committed an abominable parri- cide, in order to elevate himself to the ponti- ficate. In despite of the clamors of the Romans, Pelagius, sustained by the imperial authority, maintained himself on the chair of St. Peter. He gave the superintendence of the property of the church to Valentine, his secretary, and presented to all the churches vessels of gold and silver, as well as the veils which had been carried off by the priests during the trou- bles. He applied himself to repress the here- sies in Italy, and incited Narses to persecute the unfortunate schismatics. '■' Do not listen," said he, " to the idle talk of timid men, who blame the church when it commands a persecution for the purpose of repressing error, in order to save souls. Schisms are violent evils, which must be cured by strong and terrible remedies ; and Scripture and the canons authorize us to call in the aid of magistrates to compel schismatics to re- enter into the bosom of the church. Do, then, that which we have frequently asked from you ; send to the emperor, well guarded, those who have separated themselves from the apostolic see. Have no fears for your eternal safety ; the examples of the great saints will teach you that princes ought to punish here- tics, not only by exile, but also by the confis- cation of property, by severe imprisonment, and even by torture." The eunuch Narses, an excellent soldier, and personally brave, constantly opposed the violent measures which the holy father pro- posed. He sought, on the other hand, by his mildness and tolerance, to induce a disposi- tion more conformable to the precepts of the Bible. In fact, it was said that the man-of-war acted as the shepherd ] and the shepherd as the man-of-war. We are about to discover that the clergy have always found great plea- sure in swimming in blood and contemplating carnage ; and that they have even surpassed kings in their cruelty when they have pos- ses.sed the sovereign power. It is a truth, un- fortunately established by history, that reli- gious intolerance, during more than two thou- sand years, has depopulated the most flourish- ing states, lighted among all nations the torches of fanaticism, excited in all coun- tries butcheries, murders, and incendiarism j and has, above all, led to violations and mas- sacres. What is the most deplorable is, that the ministers of all these cruelties have veiled them from the eyes of the people, under the specious pretext of maintaining the orthodoxy of the church, and have caused a religion sublime in its morality to be execrated. The misfortunes under which humanity has groan- ed, have had no other origin than the ambition of priests, or the pride of sovereigns. Never- theless, the partizans of theocracy affirm, that the priests are not persecutors when they force men to enter upon the true path ] and they rely upon the famous words of the evangelist, " Constrain them to enter." But from this odious principle the orthodox furnish arms against themselves ; for, accord- ing to their own maxims, heretics should cause torrents of blood to flow in those countries va. which their power is supreme. People ! repulse these impious men, whose avarice and ambition are concealed under the mask of hypocrisy. Return to sentiments more elevated, and believe, whatever may be your creed, that love and charity for your brethren are the only acts agreeable to God. Pelagius, who was entirely opposed to sen- timents of tolerance, renewed his entreaties to Narses to second his projects of vengeance. The heretics, on their side, excommunicated the Grecian general, because he seemed to protect the infamous Pelagius. The holy father hastened to congratulate Narses that Provi- dence had permitted him to be anathematized, in order to cause the purity of his faith to shine forth ; at the same time he induced him to take a brilliant vengeance for the act, by sending the guilty, and particularly Paulinus, bishop of Aquilea, whom he called an usurper, bound, hand and foot, to Constantinople. He also pointed out to the wrath of the patrician another schismatic bishop named Euphrasius, who was accused of homicide and incestuous adultery. To show the effects of the vengeance of the pontiff, the prelates of Tuscany wrote to him in justification of their separation. Pela- gius replied to them : " How is it that you do not believe yourselves separate from the HISTORY OF THE POPES. 119. communion of the faithful, when you do not recite my name in your prayers, according to the established usage of the church I For all unworthy as I am, it is in my person that are lodged the powers granted by God to the suc- cessors of St. Peter. But, to put an end to the evil thoughts which must exist in your minds, and among your people, as to the purity of my faith, I declare to you, that I conform to the decisions of the councils of Nice. Con- stantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon ; that I anathematize all who doubt the orthodoxy of these four cecumenical assemblies, as well as the letter of pope Leo, conlirmed by the synod of Chalcedon." A large number of the bishops of Gaul also expressed theirdiscontent with the holy father, andcomplaiired to kingChildebert of the scan- dal which his condemnation of the three chap- ters caused in the church. The prince charged Rufinus, his embassador at Koine, to demand an explanation of this judgment, in order to submit it to the clergy of France. Pelagius hastened to reply to the king, and at the same time sent him relics of the apostles and martyrs, which he commended to his piety. His profession of faith explained the myste- ries of the Trinity, and of the incarnation, as well as the dogma of the resurrection of the dead. In his private letter, addressed to the sovereign, he praised the greatness of Childe- bert, and said to him, •' that, according to the words of the Holy Scripture, '• the Levites of the Lord should be in submission to the powers of the earth."' In the third council of Paris, which was held the same year, the fathers made several canons to prevent the usurpation of church property. At this period of barbarity and igno- rance, some lords despoiled their families, through devotion, to enrich the monasteries, whilst others pillaged monasteries to seize on their wealth. Among their benefactors the monks cite duke Crodin. According to their legends, it appears that this lord employed his immense treasures in building, every year, three palaces ; that he called in the neigh- bouring prelates to inaugurate them ; and after having bestowed on them sumptuous repasts, he distributed among them, not only vessels of silver, rich hangings, costly furniture, and domestics, but also the palaces, farms, lands, cultivated ground, vineyards, and the serfs who cultivated them. Still, the greater part of the nobles, far from imitating the example of the pious Crodin, seiztnl upon the convents with armed hands, pillaged the churches, and drove the priests or the monks from their residences. The synod pronounced the penalties of excommu- nication against those who should retain the property of the clerg}-, regular or secular ; and declared them anathematized, and murderers of the poor, until they should have restored the domains of which they had robbed them. The laity were prohibited from taking pos- session of bishoprics, under the pretext of supervising the administration during a va- cancy; and if the usurper resided in another i diocese, the council commanded the priests to ' address their reclamations to the prelates of j the province, to constrain the ravisher to re- store the patrimony of the ecclesiastics. The fathers declared that the bishops were the guardians of the charters of the churches, and the protectors of the property of the clergy. They prohibited the espousal of a widow or young girl ag-ainst her consent, even with the authority of the prince. They condemned marriages between kinsfolk, and persons con- secrated to God. They also prohibited the ordination of bishops without the approbation of the citizens ; and in case a priest should seize upon the see by order of the sovereign, they commanded the prelates of the province to reject the usurper, under penalty of being themselves excluded from the communion of the faithful. Finally, the last canon sent back to the metropolitan, judginent on ordinations already made, and which were tainted with irregularity. Such were the important deci- sions of the synod of Paris. Among the prelates who assisted at that synod, one of the most illustrious was St. Ger- main of Paris, bishop of that city. He was born in Autun, of very religious parents, who placed him, when very young, in a cloister in the little city of Avalon, where he obtained his early education. In the course of time he was elevated by his merit to the dignity of abbot of St. Symphorien, a monastery situ- ated in one of the faubourgs of Autun. Then his community sent him to the fifth council of OrleaiKs, where his learning and great piety acquired for him the esteem of his colleag-ues. and procured for him the episcopal see oi Paris, which was vacant through the death of Eusebius. Greatness did not change the habits of the pious abbot : he was as simple, as detached from the world, as before ; and it appeared that he had not accepted the high distinction of bishop, but to show to other prelates that it was possible to practise at once, the duties of the episcopate and the austerities of the convent. Pelagius died in 5r)9. after having reigned three years and ten months, in the midst of schisms, which separated from his see the church of the East, and a part of that of the West, 120 HISTORY OF THE POPES, JOHN THE THIRD, SIXTY-THIRD POPE. [A. D. 560. — Justinian and Justin the Second, Emperors of the East.] The obscurity of the history of John the Third — Election of the pontiff— Two bishops of Gaul condemned and deposed for their crimes, appeal to the pope, and are reinstalled in their sees— They are a second time condemned by the council of Chalons — Death of John. The chronicles of the church towards the end of the sixth century are barren of events, and the history of the pontificates, the most important in their duration, is developed in a few pages. After the death of Pelagius, John, sur- named Cateline, was chosen to succeed him. The new pontiff finished the churches of St. Philip and St. James, commenced by his predecessor, and enriched them with mo- saics and paintings, whose subjects were drawn from the Holy Scriptures. He dedi- cated those temples ; and it is believed that he instituted the fete of the apostles Philip and James. The cemetery of the martyrs was also increased by his care ; and he ordained that on Sundays the church ^f the Lateran should furnish this oratory with bread, wine, and lights. Six years after the election of the pontiff, two bishops of the kingdom of Gontran, scan- dalized the community by their abominable lives. The prince assembled a council at Lj'ons, which declared the two prelates de- posed for the crimes of adultery, rape, and murder. Instead of submitting to this decision, these unworthy prelates accused the synod of hav- ing exceeded its powers, and appealed from it to the pope, who had the boldness to rein- stall them in their sees. Thus the court of Rome justified the most condemnable actions, when those who committed them aided in augmenting the pontifical power ! The g-uilty prelates, finding themselves sus- tained by the Holy See. persevered in their excesses, and their debaucheries were such, that the clergy of Burgimdy anathematized them anew, in an assembly held at Chalons, where they were declared prevaricating bish- ops, traitors to their country, and guilty of lese-majesty. Some authors affirm, that John the Third did not approve of the fifth oecumenical coun- cil. Cardinal Norris has demonstrated that this is untrue ; and father Francis Pagi agrees with him. Both found their opinions on the testimony of esteemed authors, but who have not made it as authentic as history demands. The pope died in 572, after a reign of thir- teen years, and was interred in the church of St. Peter's at Rome. BENEDICT THE FIRST, SIXTY-FOURTH POPE. [A. D. 573. — Justin the Second, Emperor of the East.] Election of Benedict the First — Famine at Rome — Death of the pontiff. After the death of the pontiff John, the Holy See remained vacant for ten months. Fleury, in his Church History, attributes this long interregnum to the baneful effects of the ravages which the Lombards then exercised in Italy. It is. however, nearer the truth to refer the cause to the intrigues which always preceded the election of the popes. Benedict the First, surnamed Bonosus, a Roman by birth, and the son of Boniface, hav- ing triumphed over his competitors, mounted upon the see of St. Peter. During his ponti- ficate the misery of the people was extreme, and Ronie would have succumbed to the hor- rors of famine, if the emperor Justin the Se- cond had not sent from Egypt vessels laden with wheat, to succour the holy city. The actions of the holy father remain enveloped in oblivion. We only know that he died in 577, after having occupied the apostolic throne for four years. He was in- terred in the church of St. Peter at Rome. HISTORY OF THE POPES, 121 PELAGIUS THE SECOND, SIXTY-FIFTH POPE. [A. D. 577. — Tiberius the Second and Maurice, Emperors of the East.] Considerations on the elections of popes during the sixth century — The emperors reserve the right of confirming the nominulio)is of prelates — Election of Pelagius the Second — He receives the monks of Mount Cassino — llie pontiff endeavours to reunite the church — Obsti- nacij of the bishops of Istria — 2'hey are persecuted by order of the pope — The emperor pro- hibits violence against schisnmtics — Gregory of Antioch accused of incest — He justifies himself by oath — John tlie Faster, archbishop of Constantinople, takes the title of Universal Bishop — i)eath of Pelagius. The pontiffs of Rome had considerably aug- mented their wealth since the commence- ment ol" the sixth century, by declaring them- selves the dispensers of a fourth part of the property of the church; and they were soon able to form a powerful party in the holy city. The elections then lost their religious charac- ter; the ambitious, who desired to elevate themselves upon the throne of St. Peter, were prodigal of their gold to the factious, and in- trigues degenerated into seditions. Up to this period, the princes had not occu- pied themselves in the choice of the pontilfs ; but, seeing the authority of the Holy See in- crease, they became alarmed at the power of the popes, and resolved no longer to permit the clergy and people to be independent in the election of their bishops. Under the specious pretext that this liberty drew in its train seditions, massacres, and that it sometimes even drove the rivals to form secret alliances with the enemies of the state to sustain their pretensions, the empe- rors ordered that the prelates chosen by the suffrages of the laity and clergy, could not be consecrated, nor exercise their sacerdotal functions without their approval. They re- served chiefly the right of confirming the elections of the bishops of Rome, Ravenna, and Milan, and left to their ministers the care of the other sees. Nevertheless, when an eminent ecclesiastic, known to be agreeable to the prince, had been chosen by the people as chief of their diocese, he was solemnly consecrated, without waiting for the reply of the emperor. It was the same when war or pestilence interrupted the commmiication between the East and the West. Thus the ordination of Pelagius, the successor of Benedict the First, was accom- plished. Rome, besieged by its enemies, was so closely surrounded that no one could leave the city. The deplorable state of the church compelled the clergy to consecrate their chief, without waiting for the authority of Tiberius. After the siege was raised, however, tliey sent the deacon Gregory to Constantinople to ob- tain the approval of the emperor for the enthroning of the new pontiff — the Greek emperors preserving the right of confirming the elections of the prelates of Italy until the middle of the eighth century. Pelairius was a Roman by birth, and the son of Vinigildus. In the beginnhig of his reign, the Lombards ravaged Italy, massacred the ministers of religion, and ruined the mo- VoL. I. Q nastery of Mount Cassino. The monks of this convent, who escaped the swords of the bar- barians, found an asylum in Rome, where the pope permitted them to build a new retreat, near the palace of the Lateran. To arrest the incursions of the hordes who sacked the Latin cities, Pelagius demanded troops from Tiberius. LTnfortuuately the war, which this prince was maintaining against the Persians, rendered this negotiation useless. Fearing that if he should weaken his army by dividing his forces, he would not be able to defend the empire against his formidable adversaries, he refused to send soldiers to the succour of Italy. The pontiff then turning to another side, sought the aid of the Frank kings, and besought them to declare war on the Lombards. His projects failed in Gaul, as they had done in Constantinople ; and his letters addressed to the bishop of Aries and the prelates of Auxerre, to obtain the protec- tion of Gontran, did not produce any effect. After the death of Tiberius the Second, the new emperor, Maurice, w^as more favourable to Pelagius that his predecessor. At the solicita- tion of the deacon Gregory, he sent troops to the pontiff, and even made a treaty with Childe- bert the Second, king of Austrasia, by which he paid him fifty thousand pennies of gold to drive the Lombards from Italy. The Frank king advanced immediately against them, but they arrested him on his march, and bought his alliance for a sum double that \\hieh the Greek emperor had paid him. Chddebert accepted the bribe, and suspended hostilities, under the pretence of waiting for reinforce- ments. He then returned into Gaul, and the Roman peninsula was delivered up to the mercy of its coiuiuerors. The bishops who had separated themselves from the communion of the Holy See on ac- count of the fifth council, persevered in the schism, notwithstanding the efforts which John the Third antl Benedict the First had made to bring them back into unity. Pelairius the Second, solieitcd by his deacon Gregorj'. undertook a new contest with them, and wish- ed to constrain them to return to the bosom of the church. He wrote to the prelates of Istria, obstinate heretics, and besought them to send deputies to Rome, to settle a schism which scandalized Christianity. They replied that they would not reunite with the apostolical see, which was dishonoured by popes who persisted in culpable errors, antl wished to impose them on the faithfid. The metropo- 122 HISTORY OF THE POPES. litan of Aquileia accused the holy father of having betrayed the faith of Christ, and of ana- thematizing the doctrine of the councils. This primate, imitating the examples which his pre- decessors, Paulinus and Macedonius, had left him, vigorously opposed the pretensions of Pelagius ; and in the end his successor, Se- verus, was as resolute as he in the defence of the three chapters. The pontiff having vainly displayed against them the resources of his eloquence, and the menace of ecclesiastical thunder, then had recourse to the temporal power, and Smarag- dus, governor of Italy, seconded the criminal intolerance of the pope in persecuting the clergy of Istria. He drove Severus from the see of Aquileia ; tore him from his cathedral, and led him a prisoner to Ravenna, with three other prelates and an old man named Anthony, a zealous defender of the church. These un- fortunate victims of the violence of Smarag- dus were delivered to the hands of the exe- cutioners, and by force of torments were ob- liged to commune M'ith one of the slaves of the Holy See, John the apostate, bishop of Ravenna, who had himself, iy former times, approved of the three chapters, and had been separated from the court of Rome for that crime. After their abjuration, Severus and the other prisoners obtained permission to re- turn to Grada ; but the schismatical people and clergy, regarding them as apostates, did not wish to receive them into the city, nor to hold communion with them. The heretics, convinced of the excellence of their doctrines, resisted with firmness the persecution of Pelagfus, and animated by reli- gious enthusiasm, they openly proclaimed themselves the defenders of the three chap- ters, in order to obtain the palm of martyr- dom. The courage they exhibited in their punishments, determined the usurper to sus- pend the executions. He ordered Smaragdus to put an end to the violence exercised against them, and to repress the fanaticism of the holy father, until Italy should be delivered from the Lombards, and should have recovered its liberty. He promised then to convoke the bishops of the West in council, to judge the guilty and to continue the persecutions. Three years after, in 589, Gregory of Antioch, accused of incest with his sister, by a layman, exculpated himself by oath before a synod, held at Constantinople. The accuser of the prelate was declared a calumniator, condemned to ba- nishment, dragged ignominiously through the streets of the city, and beaten by the execu- tioner with a thong of ox hide stuck with sharp Eoints. The assembly before which Gregory ad justified himself was presided over by John the Faster, patriarch of the imperial city, who took the title of universal bishop, to show that the chiefs of the Eastern clergy had submitted to his authority. As soon as Pela- gius was advised of the ambitious pretensions of John, he sent letters to Byzantium, declar- ing that, by virtue of the powers granted him by St. Peter, he annulled the acts of the synod of Constantinople, and prohibited the deacons of the emperor from assisting at divine ser- vice celebrated by a proud priest, who would destroy the equality of the church, and who took a title so contrary to episcopal humility. During that same year, Recaredus, king of the Visigoths, after having publicly adopted, in concert with the grandees of his kingdom, the Catholic religion, assembled a council at Toledo, to which were convoked the lords and prelates of all the countries of his sway, to condemn the Arian heresy with which the people were infected. Seventy-four bishops and six representatives of prelates assisted at this synod, over which the king presided in person. The session was opened by read- ing a profession of faith, subscribed by the king, and queen Baddo, his wife, in which were formularies of violent accusations against the doctrine of Arius and his accomplices, and which terminated by a defence of the four great cecumenical councils recognized by the church. The king then invited the fathers to deliberate upon reforms capable of remedying the disorders. The council decreed that priests and bishops, instead of living publicly wath their wives, as they had before done, should maintain more mystery in their carnal inter- course, and should not sleep in the same cham- ber with them. They also prohibited children who were the fruit of illicit unions from being put to death. He compelled the clergj-, under pain of the most severe censures, not to pro- secute their brethren nor the laity, before the secular judges ; but to call them before the ecclesiastical tribunals — a usage which soon spread throughout all Christendom. The session of the council had scarcely terminated, when a new assembly was con- voked at Narhonne, in the part of Gaul be- longing to the Goths, to judge the Arian doc- trines. Different decisions were made against the heretics ) amongst others they were pro- hibited from regarding Thursday as fete day, because among the pagans it was sacred to Jupiter. They were interdicted from working on Fridays, under penalty, if freemen, of a fine of si.x cents of gold ; and if slaves, of re- ceiving a hundred lashes. The different en- croachments of the clergy on the secular power, show with what readiness the priests hastened to use the privileges granted them by the council of Toledo. At this period the priests alreadymaintained that kings should learn from them how to govern their people. At length, the fathers of the council terminated their ridiculous ses- sion by a decree which ordered the faithful to sing the Gloria Patria, after the last verse of the psalms, to show that they condemned Arianism. Such were the great acts which illustrated the reign of Recaredus the Catholic. Europe was then ravaged by a contagious malady hitherto unknown, to which they gave the name of the part of the body which was affected by it. Pelagius was attacked, and died in 590, after having held the Holy See for twelve years and three months. Yves, of Chartres, and Gratian, mention several decrees as attributed to Pelagius, HISTORY OF THE POPES. 123 which Dupin assures us are authentic. In the first of these decretals the holy father pro- hibits the election of monks to govern churches, regarding the functions of the secular clergy as distinct from those of the regular. Accord- ing to the opinion of the pontiff, prelates liv- ing with the laity should be well advised of the actions and interests of the world. Whilst the religious orders, following the rules of a monastic life in the midst of cloisters, have not acquired the necessary experience, and are incapable of directing the faithful. In the second decretal he permits, in consideration of the small number who dedicate themselves to clerical life, to bestow orders on those who shall have had children by their servants after the death of their legitimate wives, recom- mending that the culpable female shall always be shut up in a convent, to perform penance for the fault of the priest. Historians affirm that thispontiffhasmerited the title of saint, in consequence of his pos- sessing the greatest virtues, which have been shown by those whom the church has canon- ized ; and they place him among the mo.st commendable bishops who have filled the chair of St. Peter. SAINT GREGORY THE FIRST, SIXTY-SIXTH POPE. [A. D. 590. — Maurice and Phocas, Emperors.] Birth of Gregory — His character — He retires into a monastery — Knavery of the Benedictines — Zeal of Gregory for the conversion of the English — He is ordained deacon, and sent ernbassa- dor to Constantinople — Returns to Rome — Governs his monastery u-ith great severity — Charity to the people — Is elected pope — Refuses the pontificate — Mounts the Holy See — Accused of hypocrisy — His intolerance — His quarrel icith the patriarch of Constantinoj)le — War tvilh the Lombards — Rome is besieged — Gregory proposes peace to the Lombards — The pope flatters queen Brunehant — Conversion of the English — Gregory accused of having poisoned a bishop — Pomp of rclisious ceremonies — Discovery of purgatory — Incontinence of the clergy — Faults of Gregory — The heads of six thousand newly born children found in the fish-ponds of the pope — Death of Gregory — His character — He persecutes enchanters and sorcerers — He destroys through fanaticism the pagan monuments — He burns the works of prof ane authors — The policy of the priests covers the world with the shades of ignorance. The father of Gregory, named Gordian, was a member of the senate, and was possessed of immense wealth ; his mother, Silvia, since canonized by the church, was of a patrician family, and descended in a direct line from pope Felix the Fourth. Our first historian, Gregory of Tours, the coternporary of St. Gregory, assures us that Rome contained no man better instructed than this bishop in literature and eloquence. " From his infancy," says the historian, '-he attached himself to the grave and profound maxims of the ancient authors. He was pleased with the conversation of the old, and evinced in his studies a mind and judgment very matured. Destined by his birth to the most important dignities of the empire, he was instructed in rhetoric and jurisprudence ; and when he ar- rived at manhood his talent procured for him the title of senator. The skill which he ex- hibited in this charge, attracted the attention of the emperor Justin the Second, who named him prajtor of Rome, the principal magistrate of that city. " But Gregory, wishing to unite the love of letters with that of virtue, cultivated science and piety in the midst of greatness, hoping that his soul would resist the vanities of lu.vury. But he soon learned that it is didicult to serve God in the midst of the pomps of earth, and his thoughts turned towards the holy retreat of the cloisters. The death of his father having rendered hnn the possessor of the great wealth which his ancestors had for a long time accumulated, he found him- self in that situation of mind in which the world places itself between God and man. "Nevertheless, though able to make the most illustrious alliance in Rome and the empire, and to elevate himself to the very steps of the throne, he did not hesitate in his resolu- tion ; he laid aside his dress, glittering with gold and precious stones, renounced ]iis great dignities, employed his immense wealth in founding convents in Sicily, and gave to the inhabitants of these holy dwellings the reve- nues, which they dispensed in alms. " Charmed by the excellence of the Chris- tian faith, he distributed to the poor his ves- sels of gold and silver, his precious furniture, his rich hangings ; he put on the coarse habit of a monk, and quitted the world — an action more admirable than the abdication of kings, who lay aside their crowns when they can no longer sustain the weight of them." The different religious orders have disputed the honour of having had this pontiff in their rule, and the Benedictines have shown them- selves the most ardent in the strife. Baronius and Anthony Gallon, a learned priest of the oratory at Rome, have opposed the preten- sions of these monks, and the polemical con- troversy which sprung up on this subject has exposed the knavery of the order of St. Be?ie- dict. Father Gallon exhumed from the libra- ries of these monks a great number of false 124 HISTORY OF THE POPES. deeds, fabricated at the monastery of Mount Cassino, and printed at Venice. These title- deeds bear the apocryphal signatures of popes and princes, and assign numerous domains, and even entire villages; to the monks of that convent. St. Gregory remained several years under the direction of Valentius, whom he had called to him to govern the cloister of St. Andrew, where he had retired ; and his intention was to pass his whole life in humility and obedi- ence. Nevertheless, after the death of Valen- tius, the brothers having chosen him superior of the monastery, he yielded to their entrea- ties, and accepted the charge of the abbey. In the fervour of his zeal for religion, he con- demned himself to the rigours of the most ab- solute fasting, and he so applied himself to the study of the sacred books, that he weak- ened his body, and fell into a languor. His mother, retired to a place called the Cella- Neuva, where an oratory and the celebrated convent of Labas have since been built, sent to him to nourish him raw vegetables, soaked in water, which were carried in a cup of sil- ver. It is related that Gregory, having no- thing else to give, offered them to a poor man who asked alms of him. His abstinence soon caused him horrible corporal suffering, which, however, did not hinder him from writing or dictating the sen- timents with which the reading of the sacred books inspired him. One day. whilst traversing the slave market, his attention was arrested by the appearance of some youths of remarkable beauty and ex- traordinary fairness, who were exposed for sale. The saint demanded from what country they cam.e ; the merchant replied, that he had bought them in Great Britain, and that they were still enveloped in the darkness of pagan- ism. This reply excited a profound sigh in Gregory. " What a cause for the tears of a Christian," he exclaimed, " to think that the prince of the abyss still enchains in his em- pire people of form so beautiful ! Why must it be, that they have a soul deprived of the treasures of grace, which alone can give men true beauty." Then he went to the palace of the Lateran. and besought the pope Benedict to send mis- sionaries into England, to carry thither the word of God. No ecclesiastic being willing to embark on this dangerous mission. Gregory offered to the holy father to go alone to this remote country. The pope only yielded to his request after an earnest petition, fearing that the clergy and people would excite a sedition, when they should learn that Gregory had left the holy city. The venerable abbot left Rome during the night, for the purpose of avoiding any obsta- cles which might oppose his journey. Not- withstanding his precautions, his absence be- came known to the Romans, who assembled tumultuously. After consultation, they formed themselves into three threatening companies. to block up the streets through which Bene- dict went to the cathedral, and cried out on his passage, " Have a care, holy father, you have offended the blessed apostle Peter, and caused the ruin of our city, by permitting Gregory to quit our walls." Benedict, af- frighted by these cries, and fearing a sedition still more violent, pledged himself to send couriers to recall the zealous missionary. Gre- gory, who was only thirty miles from Rome, was brought back in triumph. The following year he was named deacon of the church. He refused, however, to abandon his solitude, and remained within the monastery of St. Andrew. At length, on the arrival of Pelagius the Se- cond to the pontifical throne, having been appointed embassador from the Holy See to Constantinople, to obtain from the emperor succours against the Lombards, he quitted his retreat, and went on his journey followed by several monks of his community. On his arrival he had to combat the doc- trine of the patriarch Eutychius, who taught, that after the resurrection our bodies cease to be palpable, and become more subtle than the air — a sentiment then regarded by the Latin church as a remains of the heresy of Origen. During his residence at the imperial court, the legate formed intimate friendships with the most commendable personages, and at- tracted their esteem by the profundity of his judgment, and the purity of his morals. He was then recalled to Rome by the pontiff, to whom he rendered an account of the pros- perous issue of his negotiations. Pelagius wished through gratitude to attach him to his person, in the capacity of his secre- tary; but Gregory besought the holy father to permit him to return to his retreat at St. Andrews. He then returned to his monks, and submitted them to a discipline so vigor- ous, that his severity degenerated into cruelty, and excited a rebellion amongst them. The abbot then returned to sentiments of humanity, and his charity found infinite resources in so- lacing the miseries of the people during the scourge which transformed the holy city into a frightful solitude. He pledged the property of the convent to sustain the citizens ruined by the overflow of the Tiber, and at the head of his monks he traversed the streets to carry off the dead bodies of the unfortunate, who had fallen victims to the pestilence. Pelagius the Second having died of the con- tagion, the senate, clergy and people elevated to the sovereig-n pontificate the deacon Gre- gory, in acknowledgment of his ardent charity and the services he had rendered to Rome. But from humility he refused this glorious charge. He even wrote to the emperor not to confirm his election, but to cause them to or- dain one more worthy in his place. The holy father, persuaded that his wishes would be complied with by the court of Constantinople, resolved to conceal himself from the eyes of all, until after the exaltation of the pope, that he might be able to return to his monastery of St. Andrew. The governor of Rome inter- cepted the letter of Gregory, and by his orders emissaries spread themselves through the country to discover the retreat of the pontiff. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 125 At length some shepherds found him in a ca- vern,and ledhimbackto the city, where he was consecrated, notwithstanding- his resistance. The conduct of Gregory has not been able to preserve him from suspicions of dissimula- tion and hypocrisy ; and respectable authors affirm that the proud deacon wished to add to the honour of the supreme dignity the glory of having refused it. Without admitting the truth of this accusation against Gregory, we will nevertheless say, that the most unbridled ambition sometimes conceals itself under the appearance of humility. The ceremony of the consecration took place in the church of St. Peter, and the Ro- mans placed on the throne of the church a pious and enlightened man, capable of af- fording instruction to the faithful, by his writ- ings and his preaching; and whose skilful policy could favourably dispose the minds of the sovereigns towards the temporal interests of religion. At this period bishops, after their ordina- tion, sent their professions of faith and synodi- cal letters to the chiefs of the great sees. Gregory, to conform to this usage, convoked a council and addressed letters to the most important prelates of the East and W^est. From the commencement of his pontificate, his solicitude extended to the clergy of Sicily, ■whom he ordered to convoke a council every year, to regulate ecclesiastical affairs. He then wrote to Justin, governorof that province, com- plaining of his negligence, and threatening to accuse him before the emperor, notwithstand- ing the friendship which united them, of hav- ing been the cause of the ruin of an immense city, from not having furnished the grain des- tined for the people of Rome. In those ages of barbarity, the want of foresight in princes and governors frequently occasioned the pes- tilences and famines which desolated the un- fortunate people. St. Gregory w-ished to profit by the pro- found terror which the scourge had e.vcited, to bring back the heretics ; and in his declama- tions exhibited to them the gates of hell open to receive them. His projects failed, however, and his e.vhortations on the rigor of the judg- ments of God, did not hinder the bishops of lt«tria from persevering in their disorder and their schism. He also und(>rtook to reform the scandalous conduct of the priests throughout all Christendom ; but the clergy opposed in- vincible obstacles to him in Spain, Lombardy, Naples, and even in France. The pontiff convoked a council in the holy city to judge Severus, patriarch of Aquileia, whom the emperor IVlaurice had ordered to submit to the decision of Gregory. Notwith- standing the dancers to which they were e.v- posed, the bishops of the province urged Severas to resist the will of the sovereign. They wrote to Maurice that the Latin pontiff could not be their judge, being already their accuser. They complained of the violence used towards them, and of his desiring them to reject the three chapters, which the fifth CBCumenical assembly had approved. The emperor, fearing that the schismatics might place themselves under the protection of the Lombards, wrote to the pope that in con- sequence of the confusion into which Italy was plunged, he could not permit violence to be used towards the prelates; that they must wait a more fitting season to subdue them, and he charged Romain, e.xarch of Ravenna, to prevent all persecution against them, with an express injunction to obey his orders. Gre- gory thus seeing the projects which he had conceived for the reunion of the chiefs of the clergy of Istria fail, exclaimed, '• the arms of the barbarians are less injurious to religion than the culpable weakness of the exarch and the emperor." Thus Gregory, who had con- demned the persecution of the Jews, wished, nevertheless, to constrain the heretics to re- enter the bosom of the church ; so much con- tradiction does the spirit of intolerance pro- duce among priests ! The paths of force being closed to him, he had recourse to caresses, seductions, and pre- sents. He addressed letters to a large num- ber of schismatics, and finished by obtaining their reunion with his see. Still, as it is dif- ficult for men to be consistent on subjects opposed to reason, he wished to surcharge imposts upon those who refused to adhere to his sentiments, and ordered Colomb, bishop of Numidia, and the governor of Africa, to repress the pride and insolence of the Dona- tists. He then sought an alliance with the Lombards, to obtain their protection for the provinces of the West and the chair of St. Peter. Finally, king Antuaris being dead, he wrote to queen Theodelinda, to beseech her, in the name of Christ, to consent to an vmion with the prince of Turin, for the purpose of augmenting the glory of religion by convert- ing the monarch to the Catholic faith. Seduced by the charms of his new spouse, the young duke consented to embrace Chris- tianity, and by his example drew to his belief those of his subjects who were still idolaters or Arians. Gregory evinced an extreme joy on the suc- cess of his policy, and in a letttM' addressed to Theolinda, he e.xalts her virtues, bestows high eulogiums on the ardor of her zeal, and thanks her for having destroyed Arianism, by reattaching the Lombards to the Roman church. At this time the emperor made a decree by which he prohibited jjublic functionaries, as well as citizens marked on the right hand as enrolled soldiers, from entering the ranksof the clergy, secular or regular. The pope, always alive to the interest of the Holy See, wrote to Maurice, '•' I, who am less than the worm which buries itself in the sand, cannot avoid raising my voice when I hear a law proclaim- ed which is opposeil to the precepts of God. You should know that power has onlv been granted to sovereigns to direct the king- doms of the earth, and not the kinirrms to the prelates of the province of I Bvzniitium: "It is commendable, my bre- thren, to respect superiors; still the fear of God does not authorize us to hide their faults. I have known for a long time of accusations ' a^inst Clement, your primate, and I have not ' been able to test the truth of them. The care ' of my people, and the vigilance I have found necessary to employ airainst the enemies who | environ us, have not left me any time to ex- | amine into complaints so weighty. We exhort ' you zealously to inquire into the conduct of your brother. If he is guilty, he must be punished according to the canons ; if iniio- ' cent, it is your duty to acquit him. He amoiig you who shall show m this trial cowardice or weakness, how does he know but that God will condemn him for the same crimes which h3 shall have wished to conceal from our justice." I In France, queen Brunehaut and king Theo- ' doric, her grandson, sought the mediation of Gregory to conclude a peace with the empire. The)' also consulted the holy father upon a | point of discipline in relation to a bishop of France, who suffered such violent pains in his head as to render him insensate, and pre- vented him from filling his episcopal functions. The pontiff gave instructions to the metropo- litan of Lyons as to the course which he should pursue towards his suffragan in this particular circumstance. In his reply to Brune- haut he followed his habitual policy towards the powers of the day, addressing high eulo- giums to this princess on her piety, and gross Batteries upon the munificence which she dis- played towards the clergj-. He informed her at the end of his letter, that he granted the privileges asked for the two monasteries which she had founded at Autun. The deeds of these convents contain clauses so singular, that they have been declared apocr}'phal by a great number of historians. In the East, Phocas had seized upon the imperial throne, after having murdered Mau- rice and his children. The usurper sent his portrait to Gregory, who placed it, with that of the empress Leontia, in the oratory of St. Ccc- sar, in the palace of the Lateran. His holiness then wrote to the monarch to congratulate him on his happy advent to the throne. INTaim- bourg, after having traced a frightful picture of the crimes of Phocas, thus expresses himself on the policy of Gregory; '-T avow that all who shall read these three epistles, addrcs.sed to this prince and to Leontia his wife, will feel an indignation equal to that which I en- tertain towards the Roman pontiff. The shameful cause of these flatteries was the de- claration made by the emperor IMaurice in favour of the patriarch of Constantinople, in the contest raised by the holy father for the title of universal bishop. The death of the legitimate sovereign affording the pope a hope of gaining the new sovereign, he employed all the resources of his mind and his policy to gain from Phocas a decree elevating his see above that of Byzantium." At the beginning of the j-ear 604, queen Theodelinda advised the court of Rome of the birth and baptism of her son Adoaldus ; at the same time she submitted to the holy father some observations of the abbot Secondinus, upon the fifth council, and besought him to resolve the questions which the prelate ad- dressed to him. Gregory congratulated the queen on havingbaptized in a Catholic church, a prince destined foreign over the Lombards; and he thus terminated his reply: "I am so worn down by suffering from the gout, that I can no longer walk, as your deputies will af- firm to you. If God shall grant me a few days less painful, I will reply more at length to the requests of the abbot Secondinus. I send to him, however, the decisions of the council held during the reign of Justinian; in reading them he will recognise the falsity of the assertions made against the Holy See. God preserves us from falling into the error of any heretic, and from separating ourselves from the sentiments of St. Leo, and the four coun- cils. ■'I send to prince Advoldus, your son, a cru- cifix made of the wood of the true cross, and to the princess, your daughter, a bible en- closed in Persian wood, and three consecrated rings. Return thanks to the king, your hus- band, for us for the peace which he has given us, and beseech him to preserve it." This is the last letter which Gregory wrote. He died on the 12th of March 604, after a reign of thirteen years and some months. His body was deposited without pomp, near to the ancient sacristy of the church of St. Peter, at the extremity of the great portico, where were already placed the sepulchres of several pon- tiffs. His remains have been preserved, with ' his pall, the reliquary which he wore around ! his neck, and the girdle which he wore in the 'ceremonies of the church. I The deacon John has left us a portrait of I Gregory, which w^as traced from the ancient j paintings in the monastery of St. Andrew, W'here the pope was represented with his father and mother. "His height was well 'proportioned and elegant; his face united the length of his father's to the roundness of his mother's ; his beard was light-colored and thin. He was bald ; nevertheless there re- mained on the very top of his forehead two locks of hair, which curled naturally, and which he suffered to fall on his temples. He had a vast forehead ; his eyebrows were long, elevated, and straight ; his eyes were well opened, though not large ; the pupil of his eye was red ; his nose strongly aquiline, and his nostrils large ; his mouth, vermilion ; his lips, strong : his chin raised, and his complexion livid ; his aspect was mild ; his hands beauti- ful, and his fiuirers rounded and well placed for writing. The painter has represented him clothed in a brown chasuble over his dalma- tic. He holds in his left hand the sacred books of the Evnngelists, and his modesty prevented him from allowing to be placed above his head the luminous aureole given to the saints fo distinguish them from the other faithful!" 132 HISTORY OF THE POPES. As to the qualities of his mind; all histo- 1 rians agree in saying, that Gregory was inge- | nious in setting forth Christian morality, and , in causing heretics and idolaters to adopt it. 1 He possessed an inexhaustible fund of ascetic thoughts, and expressed them in a noble man- ner, by periods, rather than by sentences. What he said was always true, solid ; but common places and vulgar maxims abound in them. He is frequently diffuse in his long dissertations, and assuming in his allegories ; finally, we constantly find the style of the rhetorician in the writings of the pontiff. Some authors affirm, that he was gifted with an extreme modesty, and that he was sin- cerely grieved at the literary renown which he acquired. Having learned that his uncle Maurice, bishop of Ravenna, publicly recited at the night services his commentaries on the book of Job, he complained of it to that pre- late, and prohibited the priests from reading any of his works in the churches. It is also recounted, as a proof of his modesty, that he wrote to Eulogius. patriarch of Alexandria : "Your beatitude tells me, you will execute that which I have commaiided. I beseech you retract the word command, for I know who you are and who I am. You are my brother in dignity and my father in merit. I have not given orders ; I have simply apprised you of that which seemed to me useful for religion. I never shall glorify myself in that which shall strike a blow at the grandeur of my brethren, and my glory is that of the church." Other reliable authors assure us, on the contrary, that he exhibited jealousy of his re- putation as a writer. They relate that a Gre- cian monk, named Andrew, who was confined in a cell, near to the church of St. Paul, com- posed several discourses in the name of the pontifl^, in order to give them greater import- ance; and that his knavery having been dis- covered, Gregory, irritated that he had attri- buted to him such language, punished the forgery with the greatest rigor. According to the rule established in the or- thodox churches of the East, the pontiff divided the revenues of the Holy See into four parts: the first pertained to himself; the se- cond was given to the priests; the third to the poor ; and the last to the church-building. In replying to several questions addressed to him by Augustine, bishop of the English, he confirms the division before approved by seve- ral popes, and adds that the part of the reve- nue set aside for the prelate did not belong to himself alone, but to all his servants; and that it should serve for the expenses of hospi- tality, then in use in episcopal dwellings. St. Gregory recommended to the people sub- mission to their superiors; nevertheless, he added, that obedience did not draw after it a blind approbation of the orders of princes. '' We should warn the people," he wrote, " not to push too far the deference which they owe to their chiefs, from the fear that they may be carried away to respect the crimes of their kings." This principle, in which he was fre- quently wanting himself, has appeared of so great a necessity, that it has been placed as a rule in the canon law. Thus the church admits of resistance to unjust power ; it calls indiscreet obedience that which is not autho- rised by the apostles, and decides that we should judge of the actions of kings, and re- fuse to obey measures contrary to the great interests of humanity. Paul and John, two deacons, who wrote in the ninth century the history of Gregory the First, relate, devoutly, that this pontiff, struck with the exactness which the emperor Trajan had shown in rendering justice, prayed for the repose of the soul of this great prince; and that he obtained from Christ permission for him to leave the infernal regions to enter into the kingdom of heaven ! They also guarantee the reality of that other miracle, which took place in the church of St. Peter. A Roman- woman having ap- proached the holy table, the pontiff recited to her the ordinary formula in presenting to her the eucharist : " The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, may it give you remission from all your sins, and eternal life." These sacra- mental words having made the communicant smile, the holy father drew back the conse- crated bread which he presented to her, and gave it to the deacon to replace upon the altar. After having celebrated divine service, he called to him this woman, who was the keeper of the pantry of the church, and demanded from her what guilty thought had entered into her mind at the very moment of receiving the sacrament of the altar. She replied, " I could not repress a smile, on hearing you give to a piece of bread, which I myself had made, the name of the body of Jesus Christ." Gregory, seeing the incredulity of this wo- man prayed, and asked the people to pray with him. His prayer being finished, he rose up, uncovered the host placed under the com- munion cloth, and found it changed into flesh, with spots of blood. "Approach now," he said to the sinning woman, " and regard the consecrated bread which I give you, which is really the blood and the body of Christ." Then he ordered the assistants to prostrate themselves, and ask from God, that the bread of the eucharist might retake its ordinary form, that the woman, who had appeared moved by the prodigy, might commune : and ' a new miracle was accomplished at the bid- ding of the pontiff. Dom Denis of St. Martha, who refuted the fable of the salvation of Trajan, cites this as an irrefutable proof of transubstantiation. The same monk combated the imputations of historians who accused Gregory of having been superstitious, resting his opinions on this command of the holy father . " I am apprised that there are spread among the faithful the errors of the Jews, relative to the prohibition of labouring on Saturday. If we must ob- serve to the letter the precept of the Sabbath, we must also practise circumcision, notwith- standing the will of the apostle St. Paul. . . " Not only was the pontiff superstitious and HISTORV OF THE POPES. 133 trustful in magicians, but he also was intole- rant, and persecuted enchanters and sorcerers. Maximus. bishop of Syracuse, as ignorant as were all the bishops of that period, had found in his diocese some Greeks infected with witchcraft ; he attributed their imaginary power to the devil ; caused them to be im- prisoned, and commenced a process against them. He died before judging them. The pope wrote to the deacon Cyprian to continue the trial. "Send us those guilty ones," he said, " when you shall have convicted them of their crimes. If the resources of their in- fernal art conceal from you the truth, punish them severely; even although the secular judge shall oppose himself to your justice. VVe must strike without pity all those who are attainted by the spirit of darkness." The intolerance of the pontiff equally re- vealed itself in acts of cruelty and Vandalism; he destroyed the monuments of Roman mag- nificence ; he set fire to the Palatine library, founded by Augustus; and he burned in the public square the works of Titus Livy, be- cause that author opposed in his writings superstitious worship. He destroyed the works of Afranius, NcEvius, Ennius, and other Latin poets, of whom there only remain fragments. He constantly showed himself the declared enemy of all the human sciences ; proscribed at Rome pagan books, and pushed his hatred against the learned, even to the e.vcommuni- cation of Didier, archbishop of Vienne, be- cause the holy prelate permitted grammar to be taught in his diocese. Thus the historians of this period affirm, that the priests were more baneful to letters than the wars of the Goths and Vandals ; and that we owe to their fanaticism that profound ignorance which spread itself for several cen- turies over all the provinces of the empire. Gregory not only destroyed the works of the philosophers of Alexandria and Rome, who showed the knavery of the leading Christian ministers, and who could enlighten the na- tions : but the church militant following the example of its chief, attacked with fury every thing which bore the name of science and art. The rarest manuscripts were burned; pictures of an inestimable price were de- stroyed ; the master-pieces of sculpture were broken or mutilated, and splendid buildings fell before the axes of the priests, Finally, the new religion established its throne on the ruins of the noblest treasures of antiquity, to found its power upon the ignorance and bru- tality of the people ! ! THE SEVENTH CENTURY. SABINIANUS, THE SIXTY-SEVENTH POPE. [A. D. 602. — Phocas, Emperor of the East.] Election of Sabinianus — His harshness to the poor — He acatscs St. Gregory of having bought the title of saint — He endeavours to condemn as heretical the books of his predecessor — St. Gregory appears to the pontiff, and strikes him dead. DcRiNG the seventh century, the bishops of Rome commenced extending their dominion, spiritual and temporal, employing by turns craft and audacity; they humbly bow the head before the masters of the empire when these latter are powerful, and revolt against their authority when they see them conquered by their enemies, or unable to punish them. It is true that the emperors drew upon them- selves, by their faults, the hatred of the peo- ple and the contempt of the clergy; first, by abasing themselves to sustain theological theses, and then by espousing the most ridi- culous quarrels on the dogmas of Catholicism ; and finally, by doing that which was most odious, by pushing the violence of their con- troversies even lo the persecution of the un- fortunate, who hold adverse opinions to theirs. In the midst of those idle disputes, the ma- terial interests of the provinces were neglect- ed, and the citizens who were separated from the creed of the monarch, naturally accus- tomed themselves to regard him as an enemy, and sought to free themselves from his yoke. The popes profited by this infatuation of the emperors for religious questions, and ren- dered the disputes between them and their subjects more violent and bitter, now by rang- ing themselves on the side of the princes, now by adopting the opinion of the subjects. They thus acquired a real power, which they knew how to render more and more formida- ble, by leaning it for support on superstition and fanaticism. The consequence of this state of things was, that the shades of ignorance covered the entire world. The popes even prohibited the faithful from learning to read, under penalty of excommimication. By their orders the monuments of antiquity fell under the axes of the priests ; the most precious manuscripts were cast into the fiamcs by Vandals, wearing the tiara, and humanity can only veil its face to deplore the rich treasures snatched from her. Thus the sublime doctrines of Jesus Christ became trampled upon, despised, spit upon. Thus the intention of the Revealer was inter- 134 HISTORY OF THE POPES. preted ! The popes substituted their caprices for the Jaws of the Bible, and preserved the authority they had usurped by fraudulently employnig the name of Christ to oppress men. At length their boldness became such, that they dared to say, " People, listen ! We, who are the interpreters of Supreme Wisdom, declare to you, that truth flows from our mouth ] that we have the right to impose on you our belief ] and he who shall not preach and teach that which we preach and teacfi, shall be excommunicated, were he Jesus Christ himself! !" The pontitf who commences the series of Roman bishops of the seventh century, was the Tuscan, Sabinianus, the son of Bonus, who was of illustrious birth, and who had drawn upon himself the contempt of the Romans for his dissolute morals. Anastasius. the libra- rian, informs us that he was the nuncio of Gregory at the court of Maurice ; and that he was chosen by the clergy, not as the most worthy to govern the church, but as the most capable of augmenting the power of the priests, and the splendour of the pontifical throne. His conduct was very different from that of his predecessor ; for in a famine which de- solated the pontifical cit)', he sold the grain which Gregory had distributed as a gratuity. As the poor could not pay a penny of gold for thirty measures of grain, and were dying of hunger close by the abundant granaries of the Holy See, the principal people Avent in procession to the palace of Sabinianus, to beseech him, in the name of Christ, not to suffer those to perish miserably, whom he should nourish in the monasteries during the afflictions of the dearth. But without even listening to them, the pontiff drove them from his presence, exclaiming, '-Turn from me, ye wretches. Do you suppose me willing to imi- tate the conduct of the last pope, and pur- chase from you the title of .saint by my pro- digalities." Nero also blamed his ancestors for having drained the public treasury by excessive lar- gesses to the citizens ! Strange aberration of the human mind ! A Sabinianus and a Nero dared to make themselves censors of the con- duct of their predecessors, as if they had no cause to fear, in turn, the judgment of their posterity ! Sabinianus. the possessor of the treasures of St. Peter, not content with showing himself as hard to the poor as Gregory had been cha- ritable, wished to destroy the witnesses wliich had procured for him so great a reputation, and pretended that they were full of heresy. The synod convoked by the holy^father, had already given an order to deliver them to the flames, when a deacon, named Peter, rose from his seat, and affirmed with an oath, that dur- ing the life of Gregory he had seen the Holy Spirit, under the form of a dove, light upon the head of the saint, and dictate to him his works. This strange incident prevented Sa- binianus from executing his desire ! At length, the harshness of the pontiff and his insatiable avarice, rendered him so odious to the Romans, that a plot was formed against his life. Several priests penetrated secretly into his apartments, and assassinated him. An author of the time relates another ver- sion of his death. He affirms that at the mo- ment when Sabinianus was occupied in counting his treasures in a secret chamber, St. Gregory appeared to him, reproached him with the misfortunes of Rome, and ordered him to change his conduct ; and that on his refusal he struck him on the head with so much violence, that the holy father died of his wound, on the 15th of February, 605, after having reigned six months. It is believed that his body was cast without the walls of the holy city. BONIFACE THE THIRD, SIXTY-EIGHTH POPE. Election of Bonifacc- [A. D. 606.— Phocas, Efnperor of the East.] -His ambition — Phocas gives him the title of universal bishop — Council at Ro7nc — Despotism of Boniface — His death. The struggles and intrigues which followed the death of Sabinianus, prolonged for a whole year the vacancy of the see of Rome. At length the faction of Boniface the Third prevailed. He received the episcopal ordina- tion, and was elevated upon the apostolical chair. Born in the holy city, and deacon of this church, he had been sent, during the pon- tificate of Gregory, to the court of the empe- ror, in the quality of nuncio. This proud pope was the first who dared to bear the title of universal bishop, so long refused by the Ro- man pontiffs to the Greek patriarchs. At this period Phocas governed the empire. This prince, irritated against Cyriacus, who had refused him admission into the church after the murder of the empress Constantina and her daughter, resolved, in order to avenge himself on that prelate, to elevate the see of Rome above that of Byzantium, and nomi- nated Boniface as universal bishop of all the churches of Christendom. The pontiff immediately convoked a sjTiod, and caused it to confirm the title which the emperor had given him, by declaring the pre- ponderance of Iris see over that of Constauti- HISTORY OF THE POPES. 135 uople. This same council prohibited the re- newal of the intriarues which took place for the election of the popes, and orclpred that the clergy, the grandues, and the people;, should assemble three days after the death of the bishops of Rome, to name their successors. Boniface also decreed that the nomination of prelates, in all the kingdoms, should not be canonical until after confirmation by the court of Rome. His bull commences in these words : " We will and ortlain that such an one be bishop ; and that you shall obey him without hesitation in all he shall command you. ..." Thus the authority of the successors of the fisherman Simon increased in a^single day by the will of an execrable murderer, and the popes raised themselves from obedience to despotism. But Boniface did not long enjoy his absolute power ; he died in the very year of his elec- tion, on the 12th of November, 606. His re- mains were deposited in the church of St. Peter, at Rome. BONIFACE THE FOURTH, SIXTY-NINTH POPE. [A. D. 607. — Phocas and Heraclius, Emperors of the East.] Election of Boniface the Foitrth — The Pantheon changed into a Christian temple — A council declares that manks can be ■promoted to the episcopacy — The pope changes his residence to a monastery — His death. The disorders which were the precursors of the election of a pontiff recommenced on the death of Boniface the Third, notwith- standing the decrees of the last council, and retarded for six months the nomination of a new pope. At length intrigue and simony elevated to the pontifical throne a priest of the Roman church, who took the name of Boniface the Fourth. He was the son of a physician named John, and had been educated from his youth by the monks, who had in- structed him in the knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures. Thus, to show his thanks to his old companions, he overwhelmed them with riches, and spread his favours over all the religious orders. The tyrant Phocas, desirous of preserving the aid of the bishop of Rome, offered to Bo- niface the Pantheon, built by Marius Agrippa. son-in-law of Augustus, thirty years before the Christian era, and consecrated, formerly, to all the divinities of paganism. The pontiff thankfidly accepted the offer of the emperor, and transformed this splendic} building into a Christian church, which he solemnly dedi- cated to the Virgin, mider the name of our Lady of the Rotunda. Mellitus, bishop of London, came at this period to Italy, and assisted at a council held by Boniface, in 610. to determine rules for, and the form of, government of the English churches. Holstenius maintains, that the sjTiod made a decree authorising monks to be named bi- shops, and to discharge the sacerdotal func- tions. The same authority cites a letter from Boniface the Fourth to king Ethelbert, in which he threatens with excommunication the successors of the prince who should oppose the ordination of monks. " The monastic pro- fession," adds the 2:)ontitr, •' is the most fa- vourable to prepare men for the ministry of Christ. By the sanctity of a cloistered life, they deserve to be compared to angels; and as angels are the messengers of God in heaven, so should the monks be his ministers upon earth. Besides, do they not resemble the glo- rious cherubims in their external forms ? The cowl, which covers their heads, resembles two brilliant wings; the long sleeves of their tunics form two others; and we may affirm that the extremities of the garment which envelopes their body, represent two more wings. They have thus six win^s like the seraphims, and belong to the highest hieiarchy of the angels ! !" The holy father pushed his monastic fanati- cism so far as to change his patei'nal mansion into a convent. At length he died, in 614, after a pontificate of seven years. Like his predecessor he was buried in the church of St. Peter. DEODATUS THE FIRST, SEVENTIETH POPE. [A. D. 614. — Heraclius, Emperor of the East.] Election of the pontiff— Ilis oripn — Letters attributed to him — Uncertainty of the duration of his pontificale — Death of the pope. After the death of Boniface the Fourth, I son of a sub-deacon of the church of Rome, Deodatus arrived at the papacy. He was the who had given him a pious education. From 136 HISTORY OF THE POPES. his very youth he had acquired, by his hu- miUly and regular morals, a great reputation for sanctity. Soon after his elevation to the throne of the church, an epidemical leprosy extended its ravages among the poor, who were always numerous in the holy city. This cruel malady communicated itself without touch, and mere- ly by the breath of those who were infected with it. Notwithstanding the danger, the vir- tuous pontifi' visited the sick, and showed an evangelical charity in solacing their suffer- mgs. A pious legend adds, that " One day, Dqo- datus, desirous of encouraging the clergy to imitate his example, kissed a leper on the forehead, and the sick man was immediately cured." We are entirely ignorant of the other actions of the pontiff. A letter addressed to Gordianus, bishop of Seville, is attributed to him. But it is evi- dently apocryphal, as the see of that city was occupied by Isidore, from 600 to 636, an interval which includes the reign of Deoda- tus. The author of this piece declares that, according to the decree of the Holy See, the husband and wife who held their childreii at the sacred fount of baptism, should be sepa- rated, under pain of excommunication. He adds, however, that after having accomplished the penance imposed by the church, they could be reunited by submitting anew to the sacrament of marriage. We are ignorant of the exact period at which Deodatus came to the apostolical throne. The duration of his pontificate is not more certain, and it is believed that he died in the month of November, in the year 617. His body was placed in the church of St. Peter. Deodatus has left the reputation of a wise and virtuous man ; and the affection which he always exhibited for the poor has justly merited for him the name of saint. He was the first pontiff whose bulls were sealed with lead. During his reign the Persians conquered Jerusalem and all Palestine. They immolated, by thousands priests, monks, and nuns. They burned all the churches, seized upon an innu- merable quantity of the sacred vases and pre- cious shrines, and led into slavery the pa- triarch Zachary, and very many people. But that M'hich above all spread universal grief among the Christians, was the loss of the precious cross of gold, which enclosed a model of the true cross. This sacred relic was taken away from the adoration of the faithful. There remained of all the instruments of the pas- sion of our Saviour, but the sponge and the lance, which had been sent to Constantinople. BONIFACE THE FIFTH, SEVENTY-FIRST POPE. [A. D. 617. — Heraclius, Emperor of the East.] Election of the pontiff— His letters — Conversion of the princess Ethelberge and her brother Ethelbert, king of Kent — Boniface sends presents to the king and queen of Northumberland — He makes churclies a place of asylum for the u'icked — His death — 3Iiracles published by John 3Ioschus. Boniface the Fifth was originally from Naples, and a cardinal priest of the order of St. Sixtus. He was chosen to succeed Deo- datus the First, in the month of December of the year 617. We are ignorant of the greater part of his actions. Bede reports three letters which the pope wrote during his reign. One is addressed to Justus, metropolitan of Canterbury; he con- gratulates the prelate on the success of his apostolical labours, and exhorts him to perse- vere in his missions for the conversion of the people of England. He grants to him the power of ordaining bishops to facilitate the propagation of the gospel ; and as a recom- pense for his zeal, he sends him the pallium. At this time Edwin, the fifth sovereign of Northumberland, espoused the princess Ethel- berge, sister of Ethelbert, king of Kent. The principal condition of the marriage was, that the young queen, who had already embraced the Christian religion, should be accompanied by monks, charged to explain to the monarch the new dogmas, for the purpose of convert- ing him. But, if the prince persisted in the belief of his ancestors, she was to enjoy entire liberty of conscience, and to be allowed to hold intercourse with the priests of her suite, and to practise her acts of devotion. Boniface being apprised of the favourable disposition of Edwin, wrote to him, ''King of Northumberland, I thank the true God for having enlightened your mind, by making you comprehend the vanity of idols. May your soul soon be stricken with the rays of his grace, so that your example may draw after it the other princes of England, and cause them to abandon the superstitions of pagan- ism, to lay down at the feet of Christ their wisdom and power." Another letter of the holy father was ad- dressed to the queen. He congratulated her on having joined, as well as her brother Ethel- bert, the ranks of the faithful. He exhorted her to apply herself by her example and per- suasion, to convince the sovereign, her hus- band, of the truth of the holy Scriptures, and to render him more ardent for the propagation of the faith. He sent to them, as presents, in the name of the holy apostle Peter, the pro- HISTORY OF THE POPES, IST lector of the kingdom of Northumberland, a shirt embroidered with gold, and a rich man- tle to king Edwin. Ethelberge received a silver mirror, and an ivory comb, enriched with carvings, and embossments in gold. The pope wishing, as his predecessors, to make religion subservient in extending the temporal authority of the Holy See, published in all Christian states a bull, providing that malefactors, whatever might be their crimes, could not be dragged from the churches where they had taken refuge. The churches had already become a place of inviolable asylum for all the wicked ; but Boniface the Fifth was the first who converted into a law this usage, established by the policy of the priests. The holy father died on the 25th of Octo- ber, 625, after having occupied the pontifical chair for seven years and si.x months. He was mterred in the cathedral of St. Peter, at Rome. During his pontificate appeared the famous book of John Mo.schus, called the Spiritual Meadow, in which the burlesque contends with the cynical. This John was an Egyptian anchorite, who, after having been saved, when his country was invaded by the Per- sians, had obtained the government of a con- vent at Rome. In his work he professes to be an eye-witness of all the marvels he re- lates. It is well, in order to know the spirit of that century, to give a literal translation of some of his miracles. " In a journey which I made to Cilicia," says the legendary, "I contracted a friendship with a priest who saw the Holy Spirit descend upon the altar at the hour of divine service. This priest resolved never again to celebrate mass, until he was visited by this glorious person of the Trinity ; so that if the Holy Spirit was engaged, he waited until afternoon prayers before perform- ing the ceremony. Near to ^gina, in Cili- cia, I was witness to another very singular miracle, which confounded the enemies of our holy religion. A Catholic monk sent to be- , seech a monk of the Severian communion to send him a consecrated wafer, consecrated by a priest of his communion. The latter be- lieving that he had made a convert, hastened to carry him a wafer himself. Then the Ca- tholic heated some water in our presence, and when the liquid was in a boiling state, cast in the wafer, which immediately dis- solved. Then he took an imperceptible part of a wafer, consecrated by an orthodox priest; he cast it into a boiling pot, and immediately the water lost its heat. To avenge himself for his defeat, the Severian monk fell upon his adversary, tore from him the rest of the wafer, rolled it up in his fingers, cast it on the earth, and trampled it under his feet; but suddenly a thunderbolt annihilated him, and the eucharist, glittering with light, mounted gently towards heaven." The Spiritual Mea- dow is entirely composed of like recitals, as burlesque, obscene, and altogether extraor- dinary. John dedicated his work to his dear disciple Sophronius, which has led some his- torians to cite this latter as the author of the collection. After his death his body was transported to Jerusalem, and deposited in the monastery of the abbot, saint Theodosius. In France, flourished another monk, named St. Riquier, founder of the famous monastery of Centula. This pious cenobite, who had been converted to the Christian religion by two Irish priests, named Caidoc and Friscor, pushed so far the fanaticism of penance, that he only ate barley bread, spread with ashes, twice a week, and only slept one night in four. This existence made so great a noise in the province, that the faithful came to- gether from all parts to receive his benedic- tion. Among other visits, it is said he re- ceived that of Dagobert, who came to ask absolution for his sins ; but the saint refused to grant his request, and declared to him that the gates of heaven would never open before kings, oppressors of the people. HONOKIUS THE FIRST, SEVENTY-SECOND POPE. [A. D. 625. — Heraclius, Emperor of the East.] The election of IFonorius — Conversion of kin^ Edivin — Honorivs addresses letters to the Scotch — Festival of the exaltation of the cross — History of Monothelism — The pope becomes a here- tic— The council condemns the pontiff— Infallibility of the Holy See — Death of Honorius. HoNORius, the son of a consul named Pe- troneus, was originally from Campania. He had scarcely been installed in the Holy See, when he learned that the Lombards had driven away their king, Adahvadus, an orthodox prince, and had proclaimed Ariovaldus, an Arian, in his place. Fearinir the influence of the new monarch on the religion of his people, the pontiff wrote to Isacius, exarch of Ravenna, that he should re-estab]i.«ih the dethroned king, and order the Italian bishops who had approved of this re- VOL. I. S volution, to go to the court of Rome to be judged and condemned, according to the ca- nons of the church. But the exarch, wiser than the holy father, did not even reply to his request, and made a treaty with Ario- valdus. Towards the end of the year 625, the king of Northumberland, yielding to the solicita- tions of queen Ethelberge, and the preaching of the metropolitan of Canterbury, and of Paulinus of York, determined to embrace the Christian religion. Honorius recompensed 138 HISTORY OF THE POPES. these two prelates for this brilliant conversion, by authorising them to bear the pallium. He then addressed a letter to Edwin to exhort him to inform himself in the dogmas of reli- gion, and to proimgate it among the inhabi- tants of Norfolk and Suffolk. He also wrote to the Scotch, to induce them to follow in their ceremonies the customs of Rome, and to con- form to the decision of the council of Nice, in celebrating the festival of Easter. In the interval, the emperor Heraclius con- quered the Persians and re-entered Constanti- nople in triumph, leading back the Christians who were in captivity, and to whom he had restored their liberty. He also brought back the true cross which Chosroes had carried away from Jerusalem fourteen years before. This precious relic was deposited in the ca- thedral of Constantinople, until the emperor could carry it back to Jerusalem. In the fol- lowing year, at the commencement of the spring, Heraclius embarked for Jerusalem, to thank God for his victories, upon the very spot of his passion. When he entered the holy city, the patriarch Zachary came to meet him at the head of his clergy, and received from his hands the cross of the Saviour, which was then enclosed in its case of gold, as it had been carried away. The holy prelate ex- amined the seals, discovered that they were unbroken, and after having opened the case with the keys, he drew from it the sacred wood, to show to his assistants. The Latin church celebrates this glorious event on the 14th day of September, under the name of the exaltation of the cross. The Grecian church celebrates on the same day an analo- gous festival ; not in honour of the return of the holy cross, but to recall the recollection "of the apparition of the Labarum to Constan- tine the Great. This last version has induced the supposition, that the true cross had been really destroyed by the Persians, and that the act attributed to Heraclius was but an inven- tion of the bishops of Rome. The heresy of the Monothelites soon caused a new scandal in the church, in consequence of the publication of the famous Ectheses of the emperor Heraclius. It commenced in these words: "Wishing to conform to the wisdom of the holy fathers, we recognise in Jesus Christ, the true God, but one will . . . " This bold proposition cast the church into a frightful confusion, and we will say Avith St. Augustine, that in these times of darkness, religion was obscured by the multitude of scandals Avhich raised themselves against it. Cyrus, the venerable bishop of Alexandria, desirous of putting an end to the disputes, convened a great council, which examined the sentiments of the Monothelites, and decreed that their opinions were in conformity with the doctrines of the orthodox. They summed up the decision of the assembly in nine articles. The seventh, which is the most remarkable, establishes, that the fathers recognise with Sergius, patriarch of Constantinople, that there exists in Jesus Christ but one will or opera- tion. This opinion was adopted by the pre- lates, under the specious pretext of leading back the Severites to unity. Sergius, on his part, convoked a sjiiod in his diocese, and approved of the proceedings of the council held by Cyrus. But Sophonius, a monk of Jerusalem, condemned this error, which he treated as a heresy, and wished to constrain the patriarchs of Alexandria and Constantinople to a solemn retraction. Sergius, who was aware of the mischief-making spirit of the monks, addressed himself to the Ro- man pontiff, to oblige this monk to keep silence upon questions which might make streams of blood to flow in the East. Honorius replied to the patriarch: "Your letter informs us of new disputes from words started by a certain Sophronius, formerly a monk, now bishop of Jerusalem. We approve of our brother Cyrus, bishop of Alexandria, who teaches with you, that there is but a single operation in Jesus Christ ; and we severely blame this monk for having gone near you to combat your doctrines, and whose pride has been humbled by the force of your eloquence. The letter which you have addressed to us, shows that your decisions are the dictates of much circumspection and foresight, and we praise you for having abridged the new word, which might scandalize simple minds. In accordance with your example, we con- fess a single Avill in Christ, because, by his incarnation he did not receive original sin ; he took only the nature of man as it was created before sin had corrupted it. The Avisdom of councils and the Scriptures, does not authorize us to teach one rather than tAvo operations, and our intelligence does not concei\'e of this double faculty in the divine and human Avill of Christ. " We should reject the word operation, be- cause it appears to express at once, cause and effect, and may lead the faithful to confound- ing the Avork Avith the Avill, Avhich has pro- duced it. Still, if I condemn the double sense of this Avord, it is on account of the scandal Avhich it Avould introduce into the church, by permitting common minds to confound us Avith the Nestorians and Eutychians ; for it Avould import but little to admit the word operation. We profess these sentiments to you, that you may teach them in unison Avith us. "Those Avho attribute one or tAvo natures to Christ, and aflirm that it accomplishes one or tAvo operations, outrage the majesty of God; for the Creator, not having been created, can- not have one or two natures. I declare to you this principle, to shoAv the conformity of my faith Avith yours, and that Ave may remain ahvays animated by the same spirit. " We have Avritten to our brothers Cyrus and Sophroneus, to put an end to their iclle quar- rels, and not insist upon noAv terms, Avill or operation. We invite them to say Avith us, that Christ is an only God, AA'ho, by the aid of tAA'O natures, does that Avhich is divine, or that Avhich is human. We have also com- manded the envoys AA'ho brought us the sy- nodical letter from the bishop of Jerusalem, not to speak in future of tAvo operations; and HISTORY OF THE POPES. 139 they have promised to conform to our will if the patriarch of Alexandria ceased to write or speak on the unity of the operation of Jesus Christ."' The letters of the pontiff were received without opposition from the bishops of the East, and the heresy of the Monothelites, sus- tained by the entire Greek church, found itself still more powerful under the protection of Honorius the 'First. The pope died in 638, after a pontificate of twelve years, according to the chronology of Anastasius the Librarian. Honorius, according to an Arabic version, gave, during his reign, an orthodox patriarch to the Maronites. Vicelinus assures us, that this pope was disting-uished for the purity of his morals and his charities to the poor. He conformed, at least, to the spirit of his age, which made the virtues and merits of the pontiffs to consist in their love for founding churches and mo- nasteries ; for he gave more than three thou- sand Roman pounds to convents ; he covered the dome of St. Peter's with copper plates, which he took from the temple of Jupiter Ca- pitolinus, and renewed the sacred vases of that cathedral. Honorius, dead in the odour of sanctity, was not at first censured by any ecclesiastical au- thority ■ but some years after the sixth gene- ral council declared that this pontiff wholly particii)ated in the impiety of Sergius. His letters were publicly given to the flames, with those of other Monothelites, and the fathers exclaimed, "Anathemas upon Honorius the heretic." The seventh and eighth cccumeni- cal s}aiods confirmed this judgment, and de- clared that popes were not mfallible ! ! ! SEVERINUS, THE SEVENTY-THIRD POPE. [A. D. 639. — Heraclius, Emperor of the East.] Election of Severinus — He is besieged in the palace of the Lateran — The soldiers pillage the treasury of the Holy Sec — The pope suspected of being a Monotholite — His character — His death — Vacancy in the Holy See. After the death of Honorius, a bishop named Severinus, a Roman by birth, arrived at the sovereign pontificate; but he could not exercise the sacerdotal functions until the following year, his election not having been confirmed by the emperor. The holy father, by his steadiness in re- fusing his approbation to the Ectheses of He- raclius, having excited the wrath of the car- tulary Maurice, the latter assembled the soldiers and thus addressed them : " Com- rades, Honorius died without paying you the arrears due to you, and the treasures have been increased by sums sent from Constanti- nople for the pay of the troops. The succes- sor of this avaricious priest, in contempt of solemn engagements, refuses to pay a legiti- mate debt, and repels our just reclamations. Now, if we wish to receive the price of the blood which we shed for the empire, we have but one way, that of employing force and of doing justice to ourselves." Rendered furious by this discourse, the sol- diers seized their arms and hastened to the palace of the Lateran to })illage it; the mas- sive gates resisted their eflbrts for three days, and Severinus, at the head of his clergy, courageously defended the treasures of the church. At length, worn out with fatigue and wounds, the servants of the pope de- manded a capitulation. Maurice suspended the combat, calmed the sedition, and accom- panied by the judges of Rome, penetrated beneath the roof of this rich edifice. They placed seals on the vestry, upon the saloons of ornamentSj vases, and crowns; upon the { treasure chamber, upon the bullion chamber, and upon the galleries, filled with immense 1 treasures, sent by emperors and kings, or de- ' posited by patricians and consuls, to nourish the poor, or to bring back the captive. Then they discovered how the intentions of the pious donors had been treated with contempt, since their presents, .shut up in the treasury of the popes, served, not to solace the mise- ries of men, but to indulge the luxury and debauchery of the Roman clergy. The cartulary wrote to the exarch at Ra- venna, to render him an account of what he had done, and Isalius immediately came to Rome, to confirm, as he said, the election of Severinus to the episcopal see of that city. He drove off the principal clergy, who might have been able to excite the populace against acts of military despotism, and sent them into exile in different provinces. Then he made his troops hem in the approaches to the palace of the Lateran, and during eight days, the soldiers were employed in carrying off the gold, furniture, ornaments, and precious vases, which filled the dwelling of the pontiffs. Severinus at length, discerning that the power of the sword was still more redoubtable than that of the cross, determined to subscribe to the Ectheses of the emperor; and, in return, received from the exarch authority to govern the church. Some historians maintain that the pontiff I was not a Monothelite, and that he did not I partake of the heresy of the prince. Others rely upon irresistible proofs, and cite a letter ^ from Cyrus, patriarch of Alexandria, wliich 140 HISTORY OF THE POPES. indicates positively the sending of the Ecthe- Bes of Heraclius to the sovereign pontiff, and of his forced adhesion after the attack on the palace of the Lateran, by the soldiers of Maurice. Thus it is proved, that Severinus was a heretical pope, were it not for the ob- jection that, not having been ordained at the time of his abjuration, the Holy Spirit had not been able to communicate to him the light of infallibility, which would then submit the divine will to the caprice of.princes. Apart from this, the pontiff was esteemed for his virtues, his mildness, his love for the poor, and the care which he took in renewing the famous Mosaics of the roof of the cathedral. The duration of his reign has not been exactly determined; still, the general opinion places the epoch of his death in the year 640. He was interred in the church of St. Peter at Rome. After the death of Severinus, the Holy See remained vacant for four months and twenty- nine days, in consequence of the intrigues of Heraclius, who protracted the elections to gain time to submit the Greeks and Latins to his Ectheses. Still, the difficulty.for the emperor was not to cause his belief on Monothelism to be accepted by the Christians of the East, sufficiently prompt of themselves to cling to decisions formerly made, and always disposed to discuss and seek for modifications of dog- mas, but he wished besides to impose his opinions on the Latm bishops. These finding themselves sustained by the nobility and the people, rejected the adoption of the Ectheses, and sought to name a pontiff who partook of their sentiments. The agents of the emperor on their side, in conformity with the orders they had received, put in- trigue and corruption to work, and rejected the candidates who refused to engage m ad- vance to conform to the wishes of Heraclius. St. Sophroneus, patriarch of Jerusalem, and one of those wdio had most strongly opposed the prince, engaged, in consequence of this, in a violent polemical controversy with the Monothelites. He had traversed the East to examine the libraries, and had already made three enormous volumes, with passages from the fathers, favourable to his opinions; when, at the very moment he was about to go to Rome to present his labours to the Italian clergy, he fell dangerously sick and foresaw that his end was approaching. He then called to Jerusalem, Stephen of Dora, the first of his suffragans; he climbed with him on Calvary, and after having made him swear by the con- secrated host, that he would obey him faith- fully, he said to him, "go to the bishops of Italy and do not cease to press on them the condemnation of the impious novelties which Heraclius wishes to introduce into Catho- licism." Stephen of Dora obeyed his me- tropolitaUj and immediately embarked for Rome. JOHN THE FOURTH, SEVENTY-FOURTH POPE. [A. D. 640. — Heraclius and Constantine, Emperors of the East.] Eledion of John — Birth of the pontiff — Ectheses of the emperor Heraclius — John condemns the heresy of the Monothelites — Disputes between the monks and the priests — Death of John the Fourth. John the Fourth, the son of the scholastic Venantius was born in Dalmatia. He was named bishop of Rome by the people, the clergy, and the grandees; and his election having been conlirmed by the chief of the empire, he immediately mounted the Holy See. Before pursuing the recital of the religious wars, it is necessary to give a definition of the Ectheses of Heraclius, which then caused so great disorders in the church. This famous edict commenced by a profession of the ortho- dox faith in the Trinity ; then it explained the incarnation by establishing the distinction of the two natures, and preserving the unity of the two persons. The author thus concludes : <' We attribute to the word of God, that is to say, to the incarnate Word, all the divine and human operations of Christ. From the doc- trine of the councils, we say that a single power executes these two operations; and that they both proceed from the incarnate Word, without division, confusion, or succession. "We do not employ the term, 'a single operation,' but as it is found in the writings of the fathers ; because it might seem strange to common minds ; and because we fear that our enemies might seize upon it to combat the established belief in the double nature of Jesus Christ. We reject the term, 'two ope- rations,' because this expression is not found in the works of the doctors of the church; and because it would admit being interpreted, to recognize in Christ two contrary wills ; that is to say two persons, the one wishing the ac- complishment of the sacrifice of the cross, the other opposing itself to the punishment — an impious thought and opposed to the doctrine of the fathers. "The heretic Nestorius, in dividing the in- carnation, did not dare to say that the two Sons of God, imagined by him, had two wills: he recognized, on the contrary, a single voli- tion in these two persons. Thus the Catho- lics, who do not conceive but a single nature in Christ, cannot admit in him two powers HISTORY OF THE POPES. 141 which are combative. Then, we confess, Avith the fathers, a single will in the incarnate word ; and, we believe, that his flesh, ani- mated by a soul, possessing activity with rea- son, has never accomplished a particular action, and opposed the divine Spirit which is united to.him hypostatically." This formula of JMonothelism was composed by the patriarch Sergius, and published in the name of the emperor Heraclius, who support- ed it with all his authority until his death. ! After the death of this prnice, the political iace of affairs changed in the East. Hera- clius had left the empire to his son Constan- tine; but, before he was fairly seated on his throne, the empress Martina, sustained by the patriarch Pyrrhus, poisoned the young prince, to elevate to his place her younger son. The senate and people puni.-5hed the assassins, placed a new emperor on the throne, and forced Pyrrhus to resign the see of Constanti- nople in favour of the patriarch Paul, a fa- natical supporter of Monothelism. The church of the West renewed its efforts to extinguish the schism, and lanched terri- ble anathemas .igainst the Greeks. John the Fourth, at the instigation of Stephen of Dora, assembled a numerous council and condemn- ed the Ecthesis, as well as all its favourers and adherents. The bishops of Africa has- tened to follow this example, and the pastors of the provinces of Byzacenum, Numidia, and Mauritania, did not spare, in their sentences, neither the ancient ^lonophysites, nor those who had succeeded therri. After the adjournment of the council, the pope hastened to expedite its proceedings to the court of Constantinople, with an apostoli- cal letter, in which his holiness sought to at- tenuate the enormity of the heresy of his predecessor Honorius. admitting all the while that he had partaken of the errors of the schismatics. This smgular apolog}-, in which the most authentic proceedings were denied by pope John, thus terminated : " We have learned that there has been sent from Con- stantinople an edict, to constrain the bi.shops of the West to condemn the council of Chal- cedon and the letter of St. Leo; but the efibrts of the enemies of God have been fruitless, and we trust that the emperor, inspired by the Holy Spirit, will declare himself ni favour of orthodoxy, and publicly cancel the infamous Ecthesis of Heraclius, which is yet afiixed to the gates of all the churches of new Rome, to the great scandal of the faithful." During the following year, 641, John sent the abbot jMartin, a pious and faithful man, to ransom the Christian captives who were in slavery. He instructed him at the same time to transport from Illyria and Dalmatia, the relics of the holy martyrs Venantius, Anasta- sius, and Maur; and when the sacred re- mains were brought to Rome, he received them with great pomp, and interred them in an oratory which he had constructed in the midst of the church of the Lateran. During this pontilicate, violent religious quarrels occurred between the secular and regular clergy, who pursued each other with an implacable hatred. The ecclesiastics, not being able to endure that the monks should have the right of placing priests in churches which had been given to them by the bishops, complained to the pope of the scandal of this abuse ; but the politic John refused to admit their claims, and solemnly confirmed the privileges granted to the monks, in considera- tion of the services they had always rendered to the Holy See. This pontiff died at Rome in 641, after a reigTi of eighteen months and some days, and was interred in the cathedral of St. Peter. THEODORE THE FIRST, SEVENTY-FIFTH POPE. [A. D. 641. — CoNSTANTius, Emperor of the East.] Election of the pontiff — His letter to the patriarch of Constantinople — He condemns the Ecthesis of Heraclius — Paul of Constantinople treats iL'ith contempt the remonstrances vf the pope — The pope appoints Stephen of Dora his vicar in Palestine — Retraction of Pyrrhus — Profession of faith of the patriarch of Constantinople — Condemnation of Pyrrhus — Excommunication of Paid of Constantinople — Death of Theodore the First. Theodore obtained the Holy See some time after the death of John the Fourth; his election was confirmed by the exarch of Ra- venna. This pope was by birth a Greek, and the son of a patriarch of Jerusalem. At the commencement of his pontificate, he received synodical letters from Paul, recently elected to the see of Constantinople, and from the bishops who had ortlained him. The holy fatlrer replied to the patriarch in these terms: -'The reading of your letters, my dear brother, has apprised us of the pu- rity of your faith; but we are surprised that they do not condemn the edict allixed, to the great scandal of the faithful, in all the streets of your city. The dogmas, confinned by so many councils, should not be corrected by Heraclius nor Pyrrhus, — for thus the fathers, who prescribed, would have usurped the name of saints, and should be deprived of their celestial beatitude. "Our astonishment is increased by learning that the bishops who consecrated you have, three times, called the heretical Pyrrhus, 142 HISTORY OF THE POPES. holy. This unworthy priest made; as a pre- text for quitting the see of Constantinople, his great age and his infirmities ; whilst we know that he obeyed the terror with which the ha- tred of the people inspired him. Thus, this voluntary abandonment of his church, does not deprive him of his episcopate, and during his Avhole life, unless he is regularly con- demned, you may expect a schism, or fear lest he should lay pretensions to the see which you occupy. '•Still, through a sentiment of affection for your person, we have given instructions to the archdeacon Siricus, and to Martin our deacon and nuncio, to represent us in a council, which you will assemble, to examhie canoni- cally the case of this heretic. Do not defer his examination under the pretext that you cannot equitably judge an absent bishop; his presence at the synod is not necessary, since you have his writings. Besides, have not his excesses brought scandal on the faithful? Has he not praised Heraclius'? An abominable crime, since that prince has censured the faith of the fathers. Has he not approved of the subscription to the infamous Ecthesis, which encloses a pretended symbol? Has he not surprised the vigilance of many bishops, by inducing them, by his example, to sub- scribe to this condemnable letter? Finally, has he not insolently caused it to be put up in the streets of Constantinople, in contempt of the severe warnings of our predecessor. " Thus, when you shall have examined these accusations in your assembly, you will ex- communicate him, and depose him from the priesthood, not only for the preservation of the faith, but even the security of your own ordination. If his partizans offer obstacles to your justice, and wish to excite a schism, you will render their efforts impotent by obtaining from the emperor an order which will con- strain the guilty to appear before us, as we have already demanded from the prince." The opinions of Theodore were not listened to. and the patriarch Paul affected even a contemptuous disdain for the remonstrances of the Holy See. Sergius, metropolitan of the island of Cy- prus, wrote to the pontiff, complaining of the conduct of the clergy of Constantinople. For himself; he declared that he recognized the primacy of the church of Rome, founded on the power given to the apostle Peter. He boasted of his attachment to the faith of St. Leo, and anathematized the Ecthesis affixed in the Grecian capital. "Until to-day," says he in his letter, " we have preserved silence on the errors of our brethren, hoping that they would abandon their heresy to return to the Catholic faith; but their obstinacy has forced us to break with them, to follow the opinions of Arcadius our holy uncle, by conforming to the orthodox communion of your greatness. Such are our own sentiments, as well as those of our clergy and province !" Stephen, chief of the diocese of Dora, and first suffragan of Jerusalem, also addressed complaints to the pope on the disorders which the faction of Paul of Constantinople caused in Palestine. "Sergius," he wrote, "bishop of Joppa, after the retreat of the Persians, seized upon the vicariate of Jeru- salem, without any ecclesiastical form, and is only sustained by the secular magistrates: he has even ordained several bishops, de- pendant on that see. Still, these latter, though well knowing that their election was irregu- lar, and desirous of being maintained in their bishoprics, have not attached themselves to the patriarch of the imperial city by ap- proving of the new doctrine." The pontiff, to thank Stephen for his sub- mission, named him his vicar in Palestine; and, by the same letters, he granted him power to arrest the disorders of the churches of that province, by deposing the prelates irregTilarly appointed by Sergius of Joppa. Stephen executed the orders of the holy fa- ther; still, he refused to nominate to the va- cant sees; not recognizing in Theodore the right to create bishops without the permission of the prince. The prelates of Africa then declared against Monothelism, and addressed their letters to the court of Rome. The abbot Maximus, a man celebrated for the sanctity of his morals and the purity of his faith, undertook the conversion of Pyrrhus, and the force of his reasoning was such, that in a conference he compelled the latter to retract. Ten years later, the venerable Maximus expiated his attachment to the church by an atrocious punishment, and the executioner was a pon- tiff of Rome ! The converted heretic quitted Africa and came to Italy to demand from God pardon for his sins. According to custom, he performed his devotions at the tomb of the apostles. He was then admitted to present to the holy father a writing, in which were anathematized the doctrines that he or his predecessors had sustained against the faith. This public manifestation of the return of Pyrrhus to orthodoxy, filled Theodore with joy. He opened to him the treasures of St. Peter, to make largesses to the people, and seated him on one side of the altar, honouring him as bishop of Constantinople. The holy father defrayed all his expenses, and furnish- ed him with the means necessary to main- tain, with pomp, the dignity of patriarch. Thus Pyrrhus, having voluntarily descended from his see, soon repented of having abdi- cated his power, and abjured his belief to return to greatness ! So ardent is the desire for rule among priests, and so many inexpli- cable contradictions does the ecclesiastical spirit offer. His apostacy induced the defection of other oriental bishops. The three primates, Colom- bus of Numidia, Stephen of Byzacenum, and Reparatus of Mauritania, addressed a synodi- cal letter to the pontiff, with the approbation of all their suffragans, in favor of Pyrrhus, and reclaimed his reinstallation in the see of Constantinople. Paul, menaced by a deposition, and urged by the legates of the pontiff who exhorted HISTORY OF THE POPES. 143 him to explain in what sense he understood the symbol of a single will in Jesus Christ, resolved then to send to the court of Rome, a dogmatical letter, for the purpose of deciding the question which divided Christendom. After having glorified his own charity towards the faithful, and his patience towards his enemies, who overwhelmed him with inju- ries and calumnies, he declared his faith in the incarnation, and added, '-we believe that the will of Christ is single, because our intel- ligence rejects the idea of attributing to God a double action, and of teaching that he him- self combatted himself by admitting persons into himself. '• Still we do not wish to confound these two natures, in order, by establishing the one, to revoke the existence of the other. But we will say, that his flesh, animated by a reason- ble spirit, and enriched with all its divine power by the personality, has a volition in- separable from that of the Word, which caused it to accomplish all its actions. " Thus the flesh does not perform any opera- tion natural to it, and cannot act by its own impulse against the order of the Word ; it was obedient to its law, and only produced the phenomena which emanate from him. We do not wish to blaspheme the humanity of Christ by saying, that it was ruled by the ne- cessities of nature, and that in rejecting the sufferings of the cross, it merited the same reprimand as the apostle St. Peter. " Behold the sense in which we interpret the refusal of the passion, and these words of the evangelist, •'! descended from Heaven, not to do my will, but that of Him who sent me.' We are taught by these words negatively : we believe that Christ does not say who he is, but only who he is not, as in this passage, 'I have committed neither sin nor iniquity.' Paul, to give more force to his decisions, cites in his own favour the authority of the fathers, and thus closes. 'The bishops Sergius and Honorius, the one of the new, the other of the ancient capital of the empire, were of the opinion which I profess.' " He names the patriarch of Constantinople before the Roman pontiff, to show the supremacy of the Greek metropolis over the Holy See. This letter did not appease the discontent of the pope, nor suspend the complaints of the bishops of the West, and of Africa. Then Paul besought the prince to arrest the disor- der.';, by publishing an ettict which should put an end to the disputes and impose silence on the two parties. In this decree, called Typus, the emperor first .stated the question, then cited summarily the reasons for and against INIonothelism, and then added, "we prohibit our Catholic sub- jects from disputing upon the dogmas of one will and one operation, or of two wills and two operations. We approve of the decisions of th(^ fathers upon the incarnation of the Word, ordering all to follow the doctrines taught by the Holy Scriptures, the ODcumeni- cal councils and the works which are the rule of the church. We prohibit from adding any thing to the dogmas, and of desiring to inter- pret them according to irreligious sentiments or private hiterests. •'We desire that the state of tranquillity, which reigned before these discussions com- menced, should be re-established, as if they had never been ; and to leave no pretext to those who wish to dispute without any termi- nation we order the writings affixed to the vestibule of the cathedral of Constantinople, and of the other metropolises of the empire, to be taken down. "Those who shall dare to contravene the present ordinance, will he submitted to the terrible judgment of God, and will encounter our indignation. Patriarchs, bishops, and other ecclesiastics, shall be deposed; monks excommunicated and driven from their mo- nasteries; the great shall lose their digiiities and places ; the principal citizens shall be despoiled of their property, and others corpo- rally punished and banished from our states." The emperor Constantius was no more fortu- nate than his predecessors, and could not ar- rest the troubles of the church, for the priests are obstinate in evil ; they maintain the most extravagant and ridiculous errors, and when they have been a long time debated, they adopt them as articles of faith, and impose them on human credulity. Theodore evinced great intolerance in the theological discussions about Monotholism ; and upon the simple suspicion that Pyrrhus retired, since his retraction, to Ravenna, pro- fessed the heresy anew, he assembled some bishops in the church of St. Peter, and pro- nounced a terrible anathema against him. We are assured that he 2:)rofaned the wine of the consecrated cup by mixing with it the ink which he used to sign the condemnation of Pyrrhus. Ecclesiastical authors justif\- this sacrilegious act, under the pretext that this use was confined to Greek prelates. The existence of this custom proves, at least, that the Christians of the East did not yet admit the dogina of the real presence in tne eucha- rist, and did not believe in transubslantiation. If they believed that the bread and wine were the body and blood of Gotl, would the pontiff have dared, in the presence of a synod, to mingle the Christ with profane matter? Cardinal Baronius maintains, that Theodore condemned in a new council the formulary of the emperor Constantius. and anathematized the patriarch of Constantinople. Still, authors who have narrated the holding of this assem- bly, do not speak of the Typus. nor of the ex- communication of Paul, which induces us to presume that he was anathematized shortly after, and only when the holy father had learned that the letters and warnings of his legates were unable to lead him back to the Roman faith. As soon as Paul was apprised of his deposi- tion, he closed the church of the Orthodox, situ- ateil ill the jialaceof Placidins; he prohibited the nuncios, who inhabited this magniticent I residence, from celebrating divine .service, I and pursued them with bitterness, as well as 144 HISTORY OF THE POPES, the Catholic bishops and the simple faithful. Some were banished, and others thrown into prison ; and some were beaten and rent with blows from rods. Whilst his embassadors were exposed to the fury of his enemies, the pontiif was occu- pied with transferring the bodies of the holy martyrs Primus and Felician into the mag- nificent church of St. Stephen, and erected an oratory to St. Sylvester in the palace of the Lateran, and another to the blessed martyr Euplus, beyond the gate of St. Paul's. Notwithstanding the care which he gave to his controversy with the INIonothelites, and which absorbed almost all his time, Theodore did not neglect any occasion of extending the inlluence of the see of Rome over the church- es of the West. He entered into active inter- course with the Spanish clergy, and hisopinions ruled the seventh council of Toledo. He also corresponded with the ecclesiastics of Gaul, and directed the third council which was held in that country by order of Clovis the Second. By his instigation the creed of Nice was approved of, and thus the JMonothe- lite heresy was prevented from being propa- gated in France. Theodore even carried his solicitude to the provinces of the Low Countries, where St. Omer laboured for the conversion of the infi- dels with Mommolin, Eberitan, and Bertin. It was by his councils that these missionaries converted some influential lords, and founded different religious houses; amongst other, the celebrated monastery of Sithien or Saint Ber- tin, in which, a century later, the usurper Pepin the Gross confijied the last heir of the Merovingian dynasty. In the midst of this active life, the pontiff was attacked by a grievous malady, of which he died in 649, after a reign of about eight years. He was interred in the church of St. Peter. MARTIN THE FIRST, SEVENTY-SIXTH POPE. [A. D. 649. — CoNSTANTius, Emperor of the East.] Election of Martin the First — His birth and education — Council at Rome — Discourse of the pope — Second session of the council of the Lateran — Examination of the Ectheses — Judgment of the council — Letter of the pope to the emperor — The prince wishes to arrest the pontiff — Corruptions of the clergy — 3Iartin is carried off from Rome — hisidts offered to the pontiff — Paid of Constantinople obtains the favour of the pope — Martin the First sent into exile — His death. Martin the First was of a distinguished birth, and originally from Tudertum or Todi, in the province of Tuscany. From his early infancy he had been confided to skillful mas- ters, who developed his aptitude for study. He terminated his philosophic course, and acquired a perfect knowledge of the art of eloquence; still, his piety having led him to examine the vanity of human afiairs, he learned that the wisdom of an orator and a philosopher, was a dangerous rock for the safety of the soul. He then determined to renounce the grandeurs of the age, and to consecrate himself entirely to God, by em- bracing the ecclesiastical state, in which, be- sides, he hoped to obtain an honourable post. In all the functions which he performed, the holy minister exhibited a great zeal for religion, and was distingTiished for his ability and profound wisdom. In a month and a half after the death of Theodore, in spite of the intrigues of his rivals, he was nominated as pontiff by the people, the clergy, and the grandees of Rome, and his election was im- mediately confirmed by the emperor Constans, who ordered his agents to use all their influ- ence to render the new head of the church favourable to the Typus. But the purity of his faith, and the councils of St. Maximus, who was then in the holy city, determined him to take a contrary resolution; and to destroy the last hopes of the heretics, he as- sembled in the palace of the Lateran, in the chapel of the Saviour, called Constantienne, a council of five hundred bishops, and submit- ted to their judgment all the religious ques- tions which troubled the churches. The synod remained together several months, and held five sessions, which are each called "secretarium,'' in the style of the day, perhaps from the place, perhaps, be- cause, the convoked prelates alone had the right of entering the assembly. The first sitting took place on the 5th of October, 649 ; Theophylactus, prothonotary of the Roman church, spoke and besought the pontifl' to ex- plain the cause of the convocation of the council. Martin thus expressed himself, '-My brethren, we have to examine the errors in- troduced into Christianity by the patriarchs of Alexandria and Constantinople, Cyrus and Sergius, and by their successors Paul and Pyrrhus. Eight years have passed since the publication of this bull of scandal, in which Sergius decided in nine diflerent propositions, that there existed in Jesus Christ but a single person, in which the divinity and humanity blended themselves; a condemnable heresy which fortified the errors of the Acephalites. This patriarch then pronounced an anathema against those who did not partake of his cul pable belief; and not only did he spread HISTORY OF THE POPES. 14tr abroad this doctrine, but he even composed, in the name of the emperor Heraclius, that famous Ectheses of scandal. It maintains, with the impious ApoHinarius. that there exists in Christ but a single will as the conse(iuence of a single operation; he dared to alHx this sacrilegious bull on the gates of his church, and caused it to be approved by several chiefs of the clergy, whose religion he overreached. '•'Pyrrhus, the successor of this patriarch, also subscribed to this culpable edict, and through the influence of his example, illus- trious prelates were drawn into the schism. Later, repentance led him to our feet; he presented a petition, written with his own hand, abjuring the heresy which he and his predecessors had maintained against the Ca- tholic faith; but, he has since returned like a dog to his vomit, and we have been obliged to punish his crime by a canonical deposition. '•The new patriarch openly accepts the Ec- theses of Sergius, and has undertaken to prove its orthodoxy. As a punishment for his audacity, we have pronounced our anathema against him. In imitation of Sergius, he has overreached the religion of the prince, and has persuaded him to publish, under the name of Typos, a decree, whicli destroys the Catholic faith, by prohibiting the faithful from employing the terms, 'one or two wills,' and which leaves us to suppose that Jesus Christ is witliout will, and has not accomplished any operation. Still further, far from being touch- ed with repentance on learning his deposition, he has given way to sacrilegious violence ; has closed our church in the palace of Placidius ; has plunged into prison the legates of our see ; has stricken with rods orthodox priests; and has, finally, condemned to the torture a great number of monks. •'Our predecessors displayed all Christian charity and prudence, by using prayers and reprimands towards the bishops of Constanti- nople; but these prelates liave closed their minds against apostolical counsel and remon- strance. I have then thought it necessary to assemble you, that all being assembled iu the presence of God, who sees and judges us, we might deliberate upon the guilty and their sacrilegious errors. ]May each one then pro- nounce freely, according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit." The letter of the metropolitan of Ravenna, who e.vcused himself for not being able to come to the synod, was publicly read; then they regidated the forms by which to proceed to the condenniation of the iVIonothelitcs. The second session was held on the eighth of the same month. The holy father ordered that the accusation against the heretics should be drawn in proper form by the parties in- terested, or by ihe dean and notary of the Roman church. Theophylactus thus spoke; "I announce to your beatitude, that Stephen, bishop of Dora, first suflVagan of Jerusalem, is at the door of the church in which we are assembled, and asks permission to present himself before you."'" The pontiflTgave orders to admit him to the council. Vol. I. T The doors were opened and the prelate, in- troduced by the master of ceremonies, pre- sented his request to the synod. The notary, Anastasius, read the address, translating it from Greek into Latin. It contained an ex- planation of the first troubles in the East; the articles published by Cyrus of Alexandria ; the letter of St. Sophronius, who ordered him to come to Rome to condemn the heretics ; and finished by recalling the complaints which had been already made to Theodore agxiinst Sergius of Joppa. We will cite the last words of his request. -'I have executed the orders of the defunct holy father agauist heretical prelates, and I have not consented to admit them to the orthodox communion, until I re- ceived a retraction written with their own hand. All these abjurations have been re- mitted to pope Martin the First. '•Still, I beseech you, my brethren, to be willing to listen to the demand which my hu- mility addresses to you, in the name of the prelates, the Catholic people of the East, and the glorious Sophronius. We beseech you to dissipate, by your wisdom, the remains of the heresy, and cause evangelical charity to succeed the blind fanaticism which impels the faithful into interminable wars." The synod also received the complaints of many abbots and Greek priests, or monks, who asked for the condemnation of the JMo- nothelites. The old petitions, addressed to the Holy See, against Cyrus, Sergius, and their adherents, were then read. ^ Then the pontiff, rising from his chair, thus expressed himself: "There are enough complaints, my brethren, against these culpable wretches. Time would fail us to produce before you all the remonstrances which have been addressed to us by Catholics. We are sufficiently in- structed in the guilt of the heretics, and we can remit to the coming session the canonical examination of the writings of each of the accused." The assembly having met nine days after- wards, the sitting was commenced by an ex- amination of the works of Theodore, bishop of Pharan. IMartin cited several passages from the fathers, which condemned the errors of this prelate. The seven articles of Cyrus of Alexandria, were then examined, as well as the letter of Sergius of Constantinople, which approved of them, by pronouncing an anathema against those who did not recognize in Jesus Christ a single theandric operation. They commented on the passage of St. Denis, bishop of Athens, cited by Cyrus, and drawn from the letter of Caius. He fuiished thus: "Finally, Chri.st has done neither divine ac- tions as a God, nor human operations as a man; but he has shown to the world a new species of operation of an incarnate being, which we must call theandric acts." These words were in reality those of St. Denis the Areopagite; and the pontiiT not being able to explain tliem, accused Cyrus and Sergius of having falsilied this passage, by placing in the seventh article the ^^ ords, "new operation," instead of '-theandric ope- 146 HISTORY OF THE POPES. ration," which should he placed there. He endeavoured to show that Sergius had de- stroyed the sense of these words, by suppress- ing, in his letter, the word "theandric," in order to write only that of "operation." Re- marks worthy of the most subtle theologian ! Thus were the faithful edified by prolong- ed and violent disputes, founded upon terms which the sophistical spirit of the Greeks had introduced into the language of the church. Martin, after having maintained that the word "theandric," included, necessarily, the idea of two operations, added, ''If this expression signifies a single operation, it would say that it is simple or compound — natural or personal. " If simple, the Father also possesses it, and he will be like Christ, God and man. By admitting this operation as compound, we declare the Son to be of another substance from the Father, who cannot comprise a com- pound operation. If we call it natural, we declare the flesh to be substantial with the Word, since it executes the same operation — thus, in place of the trinity, we should pro- claim the quaternity. When we admit the theandric operation to be personal, we sepa- rate, on the contrary, the Father and the Son, since they are distinguished by individual operations. " Finally, the heretics maintain that the union of the divine and human nature, brings back the theandric operation to unity; in other words, they avow that the Word, before its union witl^ the flesh, possessed two opera- tions: and that, after its hypotheosis, it only accomplished one; and, consequently, they cirrtail it of one of its operations by confound- ing them together. These contradictions prove that St. Denis, by the word compound, which he used, has wished to designate the union of two operations in the same person; and, that he has wisely said, that Jesus Christ ac- complished neither divine actions as God, nor human actions as a man; but, that he has shown the perfect union of operations and na- tures. The sublimity of this union is the execution, humanly, of divine actions; and, divinely, of human actions : for, the flesh of Christ, animated by a reasonable soul, and united personally to him, performed miracles which made an impression on the people; and, by his all-powerful virtue, he submitted voluntarily to the sufferings which have given to us the life of heaven. Thus, he possessed that which is natural to us, in a super-human manner; and, we will say with St. Leo, that each operation performed in Christ its own jKirticular part; but, with the participation of the other." This singular explanation of the theandric operation, was approved of by the assembly without opposition. They then read the Ec- theses of Heraclius, and declared, the extracts from the two councils of Constantinople, held by the patriarchs Sergius and Pyrrhus, which atlrrmed that the Ectheses had been approved of by the pontiff Severinus, to be false and deceitful. The fourth sitting of the synod was held on the 19th of October. Martin noticed the con- tradictions which resulted from the pieces which had been read in the preceding session, and explained the articles in which Cyrus anathematizes those who do not say with him, that Jesus Christ acts by a single opera- tion. "Sergius and Pyrrhus approve of this doctrine," added he, "and still these three prelates adhere to the Ectheses, which pro- hibits the use of the terms, one or two opera- tions. Thus they cast themselves out from the bosom of the church, since it is a contra- diction to speak of an operation, and.to pro- hibit deciding upon it." The sovereign pontiff fell into a grievous error ; for he attributed to the Ectheses a pro- hibition which was found in the Typos ; and, either through ignorance of the question, or through an oratorical ruse, he placed the heretics in contradiction to themselves, whilst the edict of Heraclius supported Monothelism, and these prelates had been able to approve of it without contradicting themselves, and without anathematizing themselves. At length, in the last session, the pontiff brought in the books of the fathers and caused passages to be read from them, in opposition to the heresy ; and, after this reading, he said, "My friends, it is known to all the world, that innovators calumniate the fathers and the councils, who have taught two wills, two operations, and two natures in Jesus Christ ; the fathers have not only decided this, but they have proved it by the number, the name, the pronouns, the qualities, the properties — by all possible means. We approve of this doc- trine without adding to, or taking away any thing from it." In order to render more apparent the con- formity of the sentiments of the innovators with the heretics, the pope compared the words of one with the other, and concluded by saying, that the first were more culpable than the second, since they wished to persuade ordi- nary minds that they followed the writings of the fathers, whilst the heretics openly de- clared that they opposed them. He fortified his conclusions by the authority of St. Cyril and St. Gregory of Nazianzes, and demon- strated that Christ, by his incarnation, had taken human nature entire ; and, consequent- !)'•, with it, the will which is essential to a reasonable soul. After a long deliberation, the council ren- dered its judgment in twenty canons; it con- demned all those who did not confess the trinity and the incarnation of the Word ; who refused to recognize Mary as the mother of God, and Christ as consubstantial with the Father and the Virgin his mother. The fa- thers decided that Jesus Christ was himself of one nature with his incarnate word ; that two distinct natures existed in him, which were united hypostatically, and preserved their properties; and, that he executed two wills and two operations, the one divine, the other human. Finally, they condemned those who rejected these dogmas, or who did not pro- nounce anathemas agamst the heretics who HISTORY OF THE POPES- 147 attacked the trinity and the incarnation. Sabellius, Arius, Orijjen, Didymus, Erager, Theodore of Pharan, Cyrus of Alexandria, Sergius of Constantinople, and his successors Pyrrhus and Paul, were excommunicated; terrible anathemas were lanched against those who accepted the Ectheses of Ileraclius, or the Typos of Constantius; against priests who submitted to orders given by the impious, who were infected with Monothelism; and, against the heretics who should maintain that their doctrine was similar to that of the fa- thers, or who should produce new formulas of belief about the incarnation. The sub- scription of the decree is conceived in these terms : '• I. Martin, by the grace of God. bishop of the Catholic and apostolic church of the city of Rome, have subscribed, as judge, the definition which confirms the or- thodox faith, as well as the condemnation of Theodore of Pharan, Cyrus of Alexandria, Sergius of Constantinople, the patriarchs Pyrrhus and Paul his successors, with their heretical writings, with the Ectheses, and the impious Typos wnich has been published at Byzantium." The proceedings of the council were writ- ten in Latin and Greek, on the request of the monks of Palestine, and the pontiff sent them to the churches of the East and West, with several synodical letters. He addressed cir- culars to all the faithful of Christendom to inform them of the errors of the Monothelites, and of the necessity of assembling a council to condemn this heresy. ''We send," he wrote, '•the proceedings of the synod to all Chris- tians to justify our conduct before God, and to render inexcusable those who shall refuse the obedience they owe us. Do not listen to the innovators, and do not fear the power of those crowned men whose life passes as the herb which withereth, and none of whom has been crucified for us." He then informed the emperor of the deci- sions of the council, saying to him: "Our ad- versaries, my lord, have dared to write to the bishops of Africa that you have published the Typos, to arrest the violence of our theologi- cal discussions, and to give to truth time to establish itself. The fault of these discords should fall on those who have departed from the precepts of the church; for the fathers affirm, that the* least change in the exposition of divine truth, is condemnable in the eves of God. We address to you the proceedings of our council, translated into Greek, and we beseech you to read them attentively, in or- der that your pious laws may proscribe here- tics, and cause the doctrines of the holy fathers and the councils to triurriph." At this period, the new liishop of Thessa- lonica, Paul, sent his synodical letters to the court of Rome; the pontiff pronounced them Monothelitical: still, at the request of the deputies, he consented to suspend the effects of the excommunication which the prelate liad incurred; he only noticed the error into which he had fallen, and sent to him by his legates the profession of faith which he should follow. Paul fearing lest his submis- sion to the holv father might draw on him the enmity of tlie bishops of the East, de- ceived the deputies of INlartin, and sent back by them an exposition of his belief, in which, in speaking of the will and the operation of Christ, in which he had left out the word "natural," as well as the formula of the ana- thema pronounced against heretics. The legates of the court of Rome, seduced by the artifices and the flatteries of the bishop of Thessalonica, accepted this writing, which they carried to the pontiff. Martin, having discovered the trickery, was enraged at his envoys, called them traitors, sacrilegious, in- famous, and shut them up in a monastery, clothed in sackcloth, with their heads covered with ashes. He then wrote to Paul this threat- ening letter: '• Know, knavish and deceitful bishop, that thou art deposed from all sacerdotal dignity, until thou shalt have confirmed, by writing, without any restriction or omission, that which we have decided in our council ; and thou shalt have anathematized these new heretics, their sacrilegious Ectheses, and their odious T}'pos. If thou shalt desire to re-enter into our communion, thou must, at the same time, repair the injury thou hast committed against the canons, in not recognizing thyself as the subject and vicar of the Holy See." Martin addressed, at the same time, an order to the clergy of Thessalonica, prohibiting all communication with Paul if he persisted in his heresy, and also to nominate another bishop. Amandu."?, or St. Amand. prelate of Maes- tritch, sent a letter to the pope, advising him of the ecclesiastical disorders of his diocese, and of his desire to abandon his see to avoid the scandals which he could not hinder. J\Iar- tin replied to him: "We have been apprised that priests, deacons, and other clergy fall into the shameful sins of fornication, sodomv, and bestiality. Those among these wretch- es who shall be taken but a single time in sin, after having received sacred orders, shall be deposed, without hope of being reinstated, and shall pass their lives in the accomplish- ment of a severe penance. Have no com- passion on the guilty, for we do not wish be- fore the altar any minister whose life is not pure. " But you are not permitted to abandon the functions of your dignity to live in retreat, because of the sins of others: j-ou should, on the contrary, govern your affliction, and re- main upon the episcopal see for the edification of the Christians of Gaul. '•We send you the acts of the last svnod, and our circular, that you may apprise all the bishops of your juri.sdiction of them ; they must approve, without examination, that which we have decided to be the true faith, and should address to us this confirmation, subscribed with their own hand. " Induce king Sigebert to send us bishops who will consent to go as a legation from the Holy See to the emperor, to carry to 148 HISTORY OF THE POPES. that prince the proceedings of our council and those of )"our assembly. " We have given to your deputy the relics you asked from us. As for the books, our li- brary being poor, it has not been in our power to remit tiiem to your legate ; and his pre- cipitate departure has prevented us from having copies of the works in our archives transcribed." Martin addressed letters to Clovis the Second, to beseech him to send to Rome two prelates of his kingdom, who should accom- pany an embassy to Constantinople, to which he wished to give a character of solemnity. The two prelates who had first been designed by the prince to go to the pope, could not ful- fil this mission, as reasons of state recalled them to Gaul. Whilst executing these reforms, the holy father had not foreseen the storm which his zeal had raised in the East. The emperor Constantius, advised that the pontift' was seek- ing aid against his authority, resolved to put his edict of the Typos in force in his Italian provinces, and then to humble the pride of the court of Rome. He sent 01}Tnpius, his favourite, in the quality of exarch, with orders to assure himself of the army, and to seize upon Martin. If he found resistance among the soldiers, he was to temporize, to seduce them little by little by largesses and distinc- tions • and, finally, when the time appeared favourable, he was to seize the pontiff in his palace and send him to Constantinople. Olympius debarked for Italy during the sitting of the council of the Lateran; at first, according to his instructions, he invited a part of the bishops to separate themselves from the communion of the pope ; all his efforts having failed, and not daring yet to employ violence, he had recourse to treason. At the moment when the holy father was presenting to him the communion in the church of St. Maria Majora, the exarch made a precon- certed signal, and his esquire drew his sword to slay the pontiff. By a miracle, add the sacred historians, Martin became invisible and the esquire blind. Olympius, alarmed by this prodigy, prostrated himself at the feet of the pontiff and revealed to him the orders he had received from the emperor. He then passed over into Sicily to combat the Sara- cens, and formed an independent kingdom. The exarch was secretly assassinated some time after, and Constantius named to succeed him, two oflicers, Theodore, surnamed Callio- pas, and a domestic of the palace, also named Theodore, and whose surname was Pellares. They had orders to carry off the pope by force by accusing him, before the people, of heresy and of crimes' of state, and by' re- proaching him wilh not honouring Mary as the mother of God, and with having sent letters and money to the Saracens. Martin, informed by his spies of their pro- jects, retired with his clergy into the church of the Lateran on the same day on which the officers of the empire entered Rome. He did not visit the exarch, and making the state of his health a pretext, sent some priests to compliment him. The latter replied to them, "That he wished to adore the pontiff con- formably to usage, and that on the next day, Sunday, the Lord's day, he would come to the patriarchal palace, Avhere he hoped to see him." The term, "adore." at this period, did not represent the idea which we bestow upon it in our language ; it signified, simply, to honour ; and the custom of a real and sacri- legious adoration, as now practised at Rome, was unknown to the bishops of the first ages. The next day mass was celebrated in the church of the Lateran by the holy father , but the exarch, fearing the fury of the people, did not dare attempt the abduction, notwith- standing the number of his troops. He only sent his cartulary with some soldiers, on Monday morning, to the palace of the Lateran, to complain of the distrust exhibited towards him. "They accuse you, holy father," said the officer to him, "'of concealing arms and stores for your defence, and of having placed soldiers in your pontifical palace." Martin immediately took him by the hand and made him visit his dv.-elling, that he might bear witness of the falsity of these ac- cusations ; "our enemies," added the pontiff, "have always calumniated us; on the arrival of Olpnpius we were accused of being sur- rounded by armed men, to repulse force by violence. He soon learned that we placed all our trust in God." The exarch, reassured as to the dangers of an arrest, placed himself at the head of his troops and surrounded the church. At the approach of the soldiers, the pontiff, although sick, placed himself on a bed at the very door of the church. The}', without any re- gard for the venerable old man, nor to the sanctity of the place, penetrated into the tem- ple, broke the lights, and in the midst of the terror and the noise of arms, Calliopas, show- ing to the priests and deacons the order of the emperor, commanded them to depose Martin as unworthy of the tiara, and to ordain an- other bishop in his place. A gesture, a word, of the holy father and blood would have flowed. Martin calmly raised himself, and leaning on two young ec- clesiastics, walked gently from the church. The priests immediately cast themselves upon the guards, exclaiming, "No, the holy father shall not go from these walls ! Anathemas against you, mercenaries of a tyrant, destroy- ers of the christian father ! Anathemas against you !" The pontiff extended his hand and the obedient clergy ranged themselves at his side. Martin then delivered himself up to the soldiers of the exarch; but, at the moment when they were preparing to lead him away, the priests and deacons cast themselves anew on the troops, and surrounding the holy father, exclaimed: "We will not abandon him, he is our father; we will live or die with him." Then the pontiff addressed this entreaty to Calliopas: "My lord, permit those of my clergy who love me, to follow me into sla HISTORY OF THE POPES. 149 very." All accompanied him to his palace, which was on the moment changed into a prison, and of which all the doors were guarded by the soldiers of the exarch Theo- dore. The following night, whilst the clergy were plunged in sleep, they carried off the holy lather from Kome, accompanied by only six devoted servants. His abduction was so hur- ried, that they were unable to take any of the necessaries for a long journey, except a drinking cup. His escort, embarked on the Tiber, arrived on Wednesday the 19th of June, at ten o'clock in the morning, at Porto, from whence it started again the same day, and on the lirst of July arrived at Mycena. The pontiff was then conducted into Calabria, from thence to different islands, and finally to the isle of Naxos, where he remained an en- tire year. During the whole of the journey, Martin, enfeebled by a horrid dysentery, could not leave the vessel which had become his prison. The bishops and faithful of Naxos sent him presents to solace his misfortunes' but the sol- diers who guarded him seized upon the pro- visions, overwhelmed him with outrages, and even beat the citizens, angrily repulsing them, and saying: -'Death to those who love this man : they are enemies of the state !" At length Constantius gave orders to bring him to Constantinople, and in the middle of the month of September, in the year 654, the holy father entered the port of the imperial city. During a whole day Martin remained on the vessel, lying on a wretched linen bed exposed as a sight to the populace, who called him an heretic, an enemy of God, of the virgin, and of the prince. During the night a scribe, named Sagoleve, and several guards, led him from the bark and took him to a prison, called Prandearia, where he re- mained, without assistance, for three months. It is believed that he wrote in his prison the two letters which have descended to us. In the first, he justifies himself to the em- Eeror from the accusations brought against im, and invokes the testimony which the Roman clergy had rendered in the presence of the exarch, of the purity of hjs faith ; he grotests that he will defend the decisions of is council as long as life shall be spared to him. "I have sent," he wrote, "neither let- ters nor money to the Saracens ; I have only given aid to some servants of God who came from that country to ask alms for unfortunate Christians. I believe in the glorious Mary, virgin and mother of Christ ; and I declare anathematized, in this world and the next, those who refuse to honour and adore her above all creatures." He terminates his se- cond letter by saying: ''It is forty days, mv lord, since I nave been able to obtain a bath for my enfeebled body. I feel myself nipped by suffering ; for the sickness which devours my entrails has left me no repose on sea or on land. My strength gives way under it, and when I ask for salutary nourishment which may revive me, I undergo an insulting refu- sal. Still, I pray God, when he shall liave taken me from this life, to seek those who persecute me to lead them to repentance." He was finally brought from his prison and taken before the senate, which was assembled to interrogate him. The cartulary Bucoleon, who presided over the council, having com- manded him to rise up, .some officers support- ed him in their arms, and he was addressed by the president in these harsh words: '•Miserable wretch! Has our sovereign op- pressed thy person, has he seized upon the riches of thy church, or has he only sought to take from thee the dignity of Bishop ?" The pontiff preserved silence. Bucoleon continued, with a menace : '-'Since thy voice cannot raise itself among us, that of thy accusers will reply to us." Then Do- rotheus, patrician of Cilicia, several soldiers, Andrew the secretary of OljTnpius, and some guards of the suite of that exarch, advanced into the midst of the council chamber. At the moment when the Bible was opened to receive their oath, Martin said to the magis- trates, "I beseech you, lords, in the name of Christ, who hears us, to allow these men to speak without swearing them on the Holy Scriptures; let them say against me that which is commanded them, but let them not lose their souls by a damnable oath." The witnesses, however, swore to inform the judges of the truth. Dorotheus first ex- pressed himself, in these terms : -'If the pon- tiff^ had fifty heads, they should fall under the sword of the laws, as a chastisement for his crimes ; for, I swear, he has corrupted the West, and rendered himself the accomplice of the infamous 01)"mpius, the mortal enemy of our prince and of the empire." Pressed with questions by Bucoleon, the pope re- plied, " If you wish to know the truth, I will tell you. When the Typos was sent to Rome — ." The prefect Troilus interrupted him by exclaiming, "We accuse j-ou of crimes against the state ; do not speak of the faith j it is not the question before this assembly, for we are all Christians and as orthodox as the Romans ." " You lie," replied the holy father; "and, at the terrible day of judgment, I will rise up between God and you, to pro- nounce anathema and malediction against your abominable heresy." Troilus, smothering his wrath, continued: "Audacious prelate, when the infamous OUtti- pius executed his guilty projects, why didst thou receive the oath of the soldiers of this traitor] Whv. instead of lending to him the aid of thy authority, didst thou not denounce his perfidies by opposing thy power to his will ?" The pope replied to the prefect: "In the last revolution, my lord, when the monk Georges, who became prefect, quitted the camp and penetrated into Constantinople to accomplish nis bold designs, where were you — you and those who hear me ? Not only did you not resist this seditious person, but you even applauded his harangues, and you drove . from the palace those whom he ordered you 150 HISTORY OF THE POPES. to expel. Why, when Valentin ■wiis clothed with the purple and had seized upon the throne, instead of opposing your power to his, did you submit to his commands I In your tuni avow that we cannot resist force. "How then could I oppose Olympius, who commanded all the armies of Italy ? Is it I Avho was exarch"? Is it I to whom was given the troops, treasures, and sovereign power, on the Roman peninsula 1 But words are useless ; my destruction is resolved upon ; permit me then to keep silence. I beseech you for it • dispose of my life according to your inten- tions, for God will give me a holy recom- pense."' The president declared the sitting at an end, and went to the palace to make his re- port to the emperor. Martin was carried from the hall of council and placed in the court yard, close by the stables of the prince, in the midst of the guards ; then they carried him upon a terrace, that the sovereign might see liim through the hangings of his apartment, the soldiers carrying him in their arms on to the midst of the platform, in the presence of all the people and of an innutnerable crowd. Bucoleon, having come from the apartments of the prince, approached Martin to advise him of his sentence. " Bishop of Rome," said he, "behold how God has delivered you into our hands ; you have wished to resist the em- peror— you have become his slave. You have abandoned Christ — lo, he abandons you." Then addressing himself to the executioner, he said, "Strip off the mantle of the pontitT and the strings of his hose'" and turning to- wards the soldiers, he added, "I dehver him up to you : tear his garments to pieces." Then he commanded the crow'd to ill-treat him. Some wretches alone cried out. Anathema upon the pope ! and the other assistants, low- ering their heads, retired, overwhelmed with sadness. The executioners took from him his sacer- dotal pallinum and liis other ecclesiastical orna- ments, which they divided among themselves, leaving him only a tunic without a girdle, which they tore on both sides, to leave his body entirely exposed to the injurious effects of the air. and to the greedy inspection of the mob of Constantinople. They placed an iron collar around his neck, which was attached to the arm of an executioner, to show that he was condemned to death. He was led in this apparel, the chief executioner carr}-ing before him the sword of death, from the palace to the pretors house; there he was loaded with chains, and cast into a prison with murderers; an hour afterwards he was transferred to the prison of Diomede. During the passage, his keeper drew him along with such violence, that in climbing up the stairs his legs were torn upon the stones and stained the flags with blood. He fell, panting, and made vain efibrts to raise himself; then the soldiers stretched him out upon a bench, where he remained, almost naked, exposed to severe cold. Finally, two wives of the jailers, taking pity upon him, took him away from the prison; dressed his wounds, and placed him in a bed to reanimate his torpid members ; he remain- ed until night without being able to speak, and without recovering the sentiment of ex- istence. The eunuch Gregor3^ prefect of the palace, having been informed of the cruelties exer- cised towards the holy father, was touched with compassion, and sent him some nourish- ment by his steward ; he himself escaping from the palace, went to his prison, took oil' the collar and chains, and exhorted him to re- take courage and hope for a better lot. In fact, the next day, the emperor, in conse- quence of his counsels, went to the patriarch Paul, whose life was terminating in the suf- ferings of a severe illness, to inform him of the punishment of the pontilT, and to ask if he should proceed to put him to death. Paul, far from applauding the cruelty of the prince, heaved a deep sigh, turned towards the wall and preserved silence ; then he munnured these words: "The tomients of this unfortu- nate man augment those of my condemna- tion." The emperor asking him, why he spoke thus, the prelate raising his head, said to him, "Prince, it is deplorable to exercise such severity against priests whom God has delivered into your power. In the name of Christ I adjure you to put an end to the scan- dal and the cruelties of your justice, or fear to burn in eternal flames." These words alarm- ed Constantius, and determined him to order them to put an end to the severities exercised ag-ainst Martin. The patriarch having died some days after, Pyrrhus wished to remount the see of Byzan- timn ; but the act of retraction which he had given to pope Theodore was published by the grandees and the priests, who opposed his reinstallation^ judging him unworthy of the sacerdotal office, who had been anathe- matized by both the Greek and Latin metro- polis. Before making a decision, the emperor wished to learn the conduct of this prelate during his sojourn at Rome, and sent Demos- thenes, an officer of the treasury, with a writer, to interrogate the holy father in his prison, and to ask of him what had been the actions of the patriarch Pyrrhus in Italy. Martin replied to the envoys of the prince: "The i^atriarch came to our apostolic see, without having been cited there ; after hav- ing subscribed with his hand the abjuration of his heresy, he was humbly presented to Theodore, our predecessor, who received him as bishop, restored to him his rank in the church, and maintained him in his dignity, placing at his disposal the treasures of St. Pe- ter." After this reply the officers retired. The pontiff remained three months longer in the prison of Diomede. Then Sagoleves, one of the principal magistrates of Constanti- nople, came one morning to say to him, "Holy father, I have orders to transfer you to my home, to conduct you to-night to a place which the cartulary Avill indicate to me." Martin, addressing himself to those who were nearj exclaimed: "My brethren, the moment HISTORY OF THE POPES. 151 of parting has arrived, give me the kiss of peace;" then extending his trembling hands, ne gave them his benediction, ancl added, '•Do not mourn, but rejoice for the glory which God prepares for me." At night the officers came to take him from the house of the magistrate, and conducted him to the port, where they embarked on Doard a vessel which sailed for the peninsula of Chersonesus. A month after his arrival, Martin wrote to an ecclesiastic of Constanti- nople, complaining of the absolute destitution in which he was. '-'He, to whom I confide this letter," said the holy father, "is about to rejoin you at Byzantium, and his presence has afforded me great joy, notwithstaniling the disappointment I suffered iu learning that he brought me no aid from Italy. Still I praise God, who measures out to us our suf- ferings as seems fit to him ; but do not forget, my brother, that I am destitute of food, and the famine is so great in this country, that I cannot obtain bread at any price. Warn my friends that it is impossible for me to live, if they do not speedily send me subsidies and provisions. " I am still more sensitive to the indifTer- ence of the Roman clergy, as I have not com- mitted any act which justifies the indifference they show for my person. Besides, holy Pe- ter, who nourished indiscriminately all stran- gers, cannot leave me to die of famine; I, Avho am in exile and affliction for having de- fended the doctrines of the church of which I was the chief. "I have designated the things necessary for my wants ; I beseech yoa to buy them and send them to me with your usual promptitude, for I have nothing with which to struggle against my frequent maladies." In another letter he utters his complaints Avith grievous bitterness. " I am not only sepa- rated from the rest of the Avorld, but I am even deprived of spiritual life; for the inhabitants of tliis country are all pagans, and have no compassion for my sulierhigs. The vessels which come here to load with salt, do not bring us any of the necessaries of life, and I can buy only a single measure of com for four pennies of gold. Those who formerly prostrated themselves before me to obtain dignities, do not now trouble themselves about my fate. The priests of Rome show for their chief a deplorable ingratitude and insensibili- ty, and leave me without assistance in exile. There is money in heaps in the treasury of the church; corn, wine, and other subsidies are accumulating in its domains, and yet I remain in almost entire destitution ! With what terror then are all seized, that prevents them from obeying the command of God ! Am I then their enemy ? And how will they dare appear before the tribunal of Christ, if they forget they are, like me, formed of dust? "Nevertheless, I forgive them my suffer- ings, and pray to God to preserve them steady in the orthodox faih, and particularly the pas- tor who now governs them. I abandon the care of my body to God ; and I trust, that in his in- exhaustible pity, that he will not delay de- livering me from terrestrial pains." In fact, the pontiff died on the 16th of Sep- tember, 655, and was interred in a temple dedicated to the Virgin, at a short distance from the city of Chersonesus, where his me- mory was long held in great veneration. The Greek church regards INlartin as a confessor, and the Latin has placed him in the rank of martyrs. Some authors allirm that his relics were carried to Rome, and deposited in a church, which had been consecrated for a long time to St. JNIartin of Tours. EUGENE THE FIRST, SEVENTY-SEVENTH POPE. [A. D. 655. — CoNSTANTius, Emperor of the East.] The emperor causes Eugene to be chosen ponliff—The legates of the pope commune with the 3Ionothclitcs— Firmness of the abbot iLutimus — Letter upon the persecution of tvhich he zvas a victim — Death of Eugene. Eugene, a Roman by birth, and the son of Rufiuian, had been elevated to the Holy See by the order of the emperor Constantius, at the time when Martin was plunged into the pri- sons of Constantinople. The prince desiring that the election of the new pontiff should be canonically consecrated, endeavoured to in- duce INlartin to give in his own demission as chief of the apostohc church. On his refusal he went on, and the election of Euirene was celebrated with pomp in the church of St. Peter. Some authors, thinking to reinstate the me- mory of this pontiff, have supposed that INIar- tin the First sent, from the island of JN'a.xos, authority to consecrate in his place, the bi- shop who should be chosen ; but the letters of the orthodox ))oiitiff, on the contrary, show I the falsity of this o])inion. After his ordination, Eugene sent legates [ with secret instructions, to enter into an ac- commodation Willi the INIonothelites of Con- stantinople. ] St. Maximus, the illustrious abbot of Cluy- sople, always ojtposed a courageous resist- ance to the progress of the heresy. He was ar- j rested by the orders of the prince, and after some months of rigorous incarceration, was led before the magistrates to undergo an ex- I amiuatioa. The judge having ordered him 152 HISTORY OF THE POPES, to explain Avhat would be his conduct in case the Komans were reunhed to the Byzantines, he replied, " If you do not confess two wills and two operations in Jesus Christ, the envoys from the holy city will not commune with you. Besides, if they should be guilty of a sacrilegious action, by communing with you, the faith of the apostolic see would preserve its purity, for they are not the bearers of sy- nodJcal letters." The judges replied, " You alone are in error and darkness. The nuncios of the pontifl' Eugene have been since yesterday within our walls' and to-morrow, on the Lord's day, in the presence of the people, will commune with the chief of our clergy; and all will learn that you alone pervert the faithful of the West, since they commune with us, when you are no more among them. Return to wiser thoughts, and let the example of Martin teach you to fear the justice of the emperor." The abbot Maximus firmly replied, '•' The rule which I wish to follow is that of the Holy Spirit, which anathematises by the mouth of the apostle, popes and even angels, if they wish to teach another faith 'than that which was preached by Jesus Christ." His disciple Anastasius, advised of the order which the pope had given to excommunicate His master, and to put him to death if he per- sisted in condemning the error of the Mono- thelites, wrote to the monks of Cagliari, in Sardinia, '■'• Our adversaries have at length re- solved not to follow the doctrine of the fathers ; and in their ignorance are floating on an ocean of contradictions. After having for a long time maintained, that we must speak neither of one or two operations, they now recognise two and one ; that is to say, three. '•None of the heretics who have preceded them have dared to defend this gross error, which the fathers, the councils, and mere rea- son proscribe. Still they have caused it to be approved by the legates of the uuAvorthy pope Eugene, and, in his name, persecute the faith- ful who oppose the destruction of the faith." Maximus became, in fact, the victim of his attachment to the orthodoxy of the church. The emperor, at the instigation of the bishop of Rome, ordered that he should be publicly flogged through all the streets of the city, and that after this flagellation they should cut off his tongue and his right hand. The other actions of this pope remain en- tirely in oblivion. He died on the 2d of June 658, and was interred in the church of St. Peter, where the priests afiirm his body is preserved. The PortugTiese monks maintain, on the contrary, that his relics were long since transported into their province. Ecclesiastical authors have passed great eulogiums on the lofty piety of Eugene, and his liberality to the churches. The refonners of the Martyro- logy have also decreed to him the honours of canonization ! VITALIAN, THE SEVENTY-EIGHTH POPE. [A. D. 658. — CoNSTANS and Constantine, Emperors of the East.] Election of Vifalian — Sends envoys to Constantinople — Places organs in the churches of Rome — The emperor Constantius comes into Italy — He pillas;cs Ro7ne — The church of England — Letter of tJie pontiff — The pope sends an archbishop to England — The bishop of Ravenna treats with contempt the orders of the pope — Vitalian excommunicates the bishop of Ravenna — 2'Ac bishop excommunicates the pope — His death. The pontiff Eugene being dead, Vitalian, the son of Anastasius, born at Signia in Cam- pania, was chosen to succeed him. After his exaltation, the new pope sent legates to Con- stantinople to remit to the prince his profes- sion of faith ; the clergy also addressed a sy- nodical letter to beseech the emperor to con- firm the election. Father Pagi aihrros, that Vitalian did not write to the patriarch Peter, then chief of the clergy of Byzantium. Fleury is of a contrary opinion. In both cases these authors agree that the envoys of the holy father approved of the Typos of the prince, and were received with honour at the impe- rial court. Constantius, flattered by this mark of condescension, became favourable to the church of Rome. He put an end to the per- secution against the orthodox, augmented the privileges of the pontifls, and gave to the church of St. Peter a copy of the Bible covered with gold, and adorned with precious stones. The patriarch of Constantinople, a zealous Monothelite, testified, by marks of munifi- cence, the joy which he experienced at his union with the poj^e ; and in a letter which he wrote to him, he cited different passages from the fathers, which he had altered to establish the unity of the will of operation in Jesus Christ. In 660 the pontiff" introduced into the churches the use of organs, to augment the eclat of religious ceremonies. Two years after, in 662, the emperor Con- stantius resolved to pass over into Italy, to place the seat of government beyond the attempts of the enemies of the empire, who pushed their excursions up to the very walls of By- zantium. He went to Tarentum ; thence to Naples : but having failed in an attempt on Benevento, which held out for the Lombards, he fell back on the apostolical city. The pope, at the head of his clergy, went to meet the HISTORY OF THE POPES. 153 prince, who made his offerings at St. Peter's, and remained twelve days in the ancient ca- pital of the Caisars. Then, in his quality of chief of the state, he proceeded regularly to the pillage of Rome, to engross the treasures which had been spared by the wars. He car- ried off from the temples all the ornaments of gold and silver; the statues, balustrades, and even the brass of the porticoes. He tore off even the covering of the church of St. Mary of the Martyrs. The greater part of these spoils were carried into Sicily, where the prince had resolved to establish his residence. At the same period, Egbert king of Kent, and Oswi, king of Northumberland, sent de- puties to the Holy See, to consult the pope on some points of religious discipline; and amongst others, on the period-of the celebra- tion of the festival of Easter. They also in- formed him of the death of the metropolitan of Canterbury, and besought him to send a prelate to fill the vacant see. The embassadors were instructed to beseech the holy father to put an end to the dissen- sions excited by his representatives, who wished to subject the churches of England to the Roman ritual. Wigard, chief of the de- putation, well knowing the avarice of the pon- tiff, assisted his demands by rich presents and considerable sums, enclosed in vases of gold and silver. The pontiff hastened to reply to king Oswi ; but, whilst praising his zeal for religion, exhorted him to conform to the tra- ditions of the apostolic church, not only in the celebration of the festival of Easter, but in other religious ceremonies. "We send you," added he, "as thanks for your offerings, relics of the blessed St. Peter and St. Paul ; of the martyrs St. Lawrence, St. John, St. Gregory, and St. Pancrace ; and we present to the queen, your wife, a cross of gold, and a key forged from the iron of the chains of St. Pe- ter! !"' A violent pestilence then ravaged Italy ; Wigard and the other deputies of the kings of Kent and Northumberland having fallen victims to it, the pope was obliged to send his reply by legates. Some years after these events, John, bishop of Lappe, in the island of Crete, came to Rome, to beseech Vitalian to render him justice, by reforming a sentence pronounced against him by his metropolitan Paul, and the other pre- lates of Crete. The holy father held a sjTiod in the palace of the Lateran, to examine the cause of the bishop, as well as the proceedings of the coun- cil which had condemned John. The assem- bly unanimously declared, that the judgment was irregular. It blamed the rigor of which the bishop had been the victim, and accused Paul of rebellion, for having refused to his suffragan to pennit an appeal to the court of Rome. "Thiscrime alone," added the Italian ecclesiastics, "merits anathema, and would weaken the authority of the wisest delibera- tions." John was reinstalled in his see, and the pontiff ordered the archbishop Paul to efl'ace the scandal of tliis unjust deposition by a Vol. I. U striking act of reparation to the prelate of the church of Lappe. The latter, having so- lemnly declared his innocence, was reinstalled in his honours. On his departure from the holy cit}-, Vitalian gave him two letters ; one to Varrus, chamberlain and cartulary of Con- stantinople, the other to George, bishop of Syracuse, that these lords might present him to the emperor during his sojourn in Sicily. Vitalian then employed himself in the no- mination of a prelate for the see of Canter- bury, in accordance with the request which Egbert, king of Kent, had made of him. He brought to Rome, Adrian, abbot of the con- vent of Neridan, near Naples, to offer him the diocese of Canterbury, because this monk had been pointed out to him as well informed in the dogmas of religion, skilled in all points of discipline of the clergy, regular or secular, and understanding perfectly the Greek and Latin langTiages. Adrian, a philosopher rather than a monk, declined this important dignity, and proposed in his own stead Andrew, a monk of his convent, a man venerable for the excellence of his doctrine, and by the gravity of his age. He also declined it, declaring that his corporal iniirmities prevented him from accepting the mission of the holy father. Then Adrian presented another monk, named Theodore, born at Tarsus, in Cilicia. This Benedictine had, by profound study, ac- quired great learning in divine and human literature. He spoke with purity the Greek and Latin, and joined to irreproachable morals^ habits of passive obedience to the orders of his superiors. Theodore was named arch- bishop of Canterbury, and Adrian consented to accompany him into England to teach the people of that island, and to endeavour to cause them to submit to the authority of the Roman church. Vitalian induced St. Benedict Biscop, who was making his fourth pilgrimage, to return to his country, to conduct thither the new prelate Theodore, and to serve him as an interpreter. Biscop obeyed the orders of Vitalian, and quitted the holy city on the 27th of JNIay 668, taking the route for England, with the metro- politan of Canterbury and the abbot Adrian. They disembarked at Marseilles, and went to Aries to give to the archbishop John the letters which the pontilF had addressed to him. The prelate received the travellers with favour, and kept them in his diocese until they received from Ebroin, mayor of the pa- lace, permission to traverse Gaul. As soon as the king of Kent was apprised that the envoys of the holy father were com- ing towards his kingdom, he sent an em- bassador to the court of the French monarch, to obtain authority to conduct them to the port of Quentavia, in Ponthieu, now called St. Josso-.sur-mer. Theodore, sick from the fatigue of his jour- ney, was obliged to remain some months in this citv. Then he passed over into England, where he took possession of the see of Can- terbury. He governed this church for the space of twenty-one years. Tliis prelate ob- 154 HISTORY OF THE POPES. tained, in the end, the supremacy of his see over the other churcheS; though the arch- bishop of York had before been declared in- dependent by Gregory the First. Theodore terminated the rehgious discords of the coun- try, by inducing the English to consent to re- ceive the Roman ritual. Throughout his pon- tificate, he ruled princes and priests — made them comprehend the. advantages of educa- tion, and founded schools, in which he taught himself. Science, made general by his ef- forts, increased under the cloudy skies of England, and prepared the way for the social existence of this great nation. A contrary revolution was in operation in the East. A theological mania had seized upon the minds of the Greeks, and was car- ried by them to such extravagance, that on the arrival of their new emperor, Constantine Pogonatus, they had imperiously demanded that his two brothers should be crowned at the same time as himself. This triple conse- crated unction and obedience to three princes at once, being in their view, a rigorous con- sequence of their belief in the holy Trinity, and of the adoration of the, three divine per- sons. Constantine, who thus saw himself divested of a part of the supreme authority, in consequence of religious ideas in which he did not partake, wished to lead them back to a belief more in accordance with his inter- ests. As a consequence, he persecuted the Monothelites, and favoured their adversaries; and Peter, patriarch of Constantinople being dead, he named as his successor, Thomas, deacon of St. Sophia, who was all devotion to the court of Rome. The invasions of the Sa- racens interrupting, however, all communica- tion between the Latin and Greek churches, the new patriarch could not send to the pope, nor to the Latin bishops, his synodical letter. Shortly after took place the celebrated dis- putes between the pontiff of Rome and bishop Maurice. Vitalian had ordered the metropo- litan of Ravenna to come to the court of Rome, to be there examined on his actions and his faith; but the prelate, supported by the fa- vour of the exarch, had refused to appear, and the pontiff having declared him deprived of his honours, and debarred from the commu- nion of the faithful; he, in his turn, had pro- nounced a terrible anathema against the pope. Vitalian, furious at finding himself excom- municated by an ecclesiastic whom he re- garded as his vassal, summoned in the case all the bishops of Italy, and in a great coun- cil, deposed JNIaurice from his sacerdotal func- ' tions. The metropolitan was unwilling to have re- course to the pontifical clemency. He opposed a contemptuous disdain to the thunder of the apostolic church, and prohibited his clergy from submitting, either directly or indirectly, j to the decrees of the bishop of Rome. He also published a bull of excommunication, in which he accused the proud successor of St. Peter of desiring to annihilate the liberties of the church, to found a culpable tyranny ; and he even announced that he would employ temporal force to oppose himself to the over- shadowing ambition of the Roman bishop. Vitalian bent before the firmness of the pre- late of Ravenna ; and fearing lest the spirit ' of emancipation might spread among the clergy, he suspended the effects of his resent- ment, and appeared to forget the revolt of the audacious Maurice. The Benedictines attribute to the pope an apocrj'phal letter, beyond doubt written by the monks, for the purpose of legitimatizing the possession of houses, and immense es- tates, which they claimed in the province of Sicily. This is the language which they make Vitalian hold : " My brethren, I have learned with great affliction, that your monasteries and property have been ruined by the ravages of the Saracens, and that many among you have fallen under the .sword of that impious people. I send to console you, some monks from Monte- Cassino. I exhort you to obey them ; to labour with them for the re-estab- lishment of your abbeys, and to repair the disorders of your domains " This orthodox and ambitious pontiff died in 672, after a reign of thirteen years, and was interred at St. Peter's. John, patriarch of Constantinople, had re- established the name of the bishop of Rome in the sacred writings; but Theodore, who succeeded him, obtained from Constantine Pogonatus authority to blot out Vitalian's from the sacred catalogue. DEODATUS THE SECOND, SEVENTY-NINTH POPE. [A. D. 672. — Constantine Pogonatus, Emperor of the East.] Origin of the pontiff— His election — He gives great privileges to the abbey of St. Martin of Tours — Character of the pontiff — His death. Deodatus, whom some authors called the tion. Later, out of gratitude to the monks pontiff Adeodatus, the God-given, was a Ro- who had brought him up, he increased the man by birth, and the son of Jovian. He buildings of the convent, and org-anized the was placed, when very young, in the monas- community, which he placed under the go- tery of St. Erasmus, situated on Mount Celius, vernment of an abbot, where the monks took charge of his educa- After the death of Vitalian, the senate, the HISTORY OF THE POPES. 155 clergy, and the people chose him as the suc- cessor to the throne of St. Peter. The em- peror coulirnied the election^ and he was im- mediately ordauied bishop of the holy city. History is silent as to the acts of his ponti- ficate. The chronicles only relate that, dur- ilng his reign, St. Agiric, priest and abbot of the monastery of St. Martin of Tours, per- fonned a pilgrimage to Rome, to present to the pope a charter which Robert, metropolitan of his diocese, had granted to the regular clergy, and of which he asked the confirma- lion. Deodatus, not wishing to raise to equal au- thority with the bishops, the convents which were dependencies of their churches, at first rejected the demand of St. Agiric. But the monk having showed him in the archives of the apostolical court several examples of this abuse of power, he yielded to his prayers, and approved of the charter of Robert. This authority does not include the clauses then in use, in order to assure to the monks the liberty of living independent, and in accord- ance with their rules. Therefore, Lamoye has rejected this piece as apocrj-phal, relying his opinion on the formula reported by ISlarculfe, and used at this period for rehgious charters. Nevertheless, father Lecoiutre, whose eru- dition and exactness make him authority with some, has not hesitated to aliirm the authen- ticity of the privilege of the abbey. Deodatus, according to the opinion of Ana- stasius the Librarian, was charitable to the poor, accessible to the unfortunate — of a cahn character, and extreme goodness. He consecrated fourteen priests, two dea- cons, and forty-six bishops at a single ordina- tion ; and this is all we know of the actions of his pontificate, which lasted about five years. He died in 676, and was interred m the church of St. Peter, at Rome. DOMNUS THE FIRST, EIGHTIETH POPE. [A. D. 677. — CoNSTANTius PoGONATUSj Empcror of the East.] The election of the pontiff— The patriarch of Constantinople writes to him in favour of Mono- thclism — Uncertainty of the reply of the holy father — The bishop of Ravenna sub^nits to the jjope — The emperor convokes a general council — Letter from the prince to the pope — Death of Domnus. After the death of Deodatus, the Holy See remained vacant several months : the clergjj, the people, and the lords of Rome being di- vided by the rivalries of priests greedy of the supreme authority. At length, their suff'rages fell upon Domnus ; and when he had received the imperial sanction he mounted upon the throne of the church. Onuphrus gives to the pontiff the name of Dominus, and says he was a Roman by birth, and the son of the priest Maurice. Theodore, patriarch of Constantinople, who had declared in favour of the heresy of the JNIonothelites, did not address his s^iiodical letter to the new pope, to congratulate him on his election. He only wrote to him to know what were his opinions in relation to a reunion of the churches of the East and West. The reply of Domnus has been destroyed by the priests, which induces us to presume that it was not orthodox. Besides, the pontiff showed an extreme in- dulgence in regard to heretics. At Rome, even, he granted a signal favour to the Syrian monks of the monastery of Bcece, who openly pro- fessed the errors of the Nestorians ; and his indecision upon the dogma was such, th^, ac- cording to several ecclesiastical historians, his holiness declared that it was impossible for him to pronounce on the question which di- vided the cliurch, without emitting contradic- tory or erroneous propositions. And Platinus himself says, that Domnus candidly avowed to the priests, who composed his council, that he could not comprehend how the Son of God could have two natures, two wills, and two operations ; because such a doctrine was en- tirely at variance with the unity taught in the Bible, and which they avowed to be, at the same time, the essence of the divinity of Christ. Towards the commencement of the year 678, the emperor having concluded a peace with the Saracens, was desirous of putting an end to the disorders wliich troubled Chris- tianity; but foreseeing the obstacles which the ignorance and obstinacy of the Greek and Latin bishops would oppose to his conciliatory efforts, he called to his aid wise counsellors, to deliberate with them upon the measures necessary to be taken to bring back calm to the church. Following their advice, he ordered the two titulars of the first sees of the empire, Theo- dore, chief of the clergy of Byzantium, and Macaire, patriarch of Antioch, to come to court, to infomi him of the errors which had for so long a period divided the ministers of reliirion. The two prelates, led to sentiments of equity by the noble conduct of the monarch, forgot their rivalry and their disputes, and avowed to the prince that the spirit of controversy na- tural to the Greeks had led them to ultra con- seciuences on the dogmas or the mysteries of religion, and had led them to adopt false in- teqiretations of the dogmas taught by the fathers. They aflbmed that the terms em- 156 HISTORY OF THE POPES. ployed in iheological discussions were only pretexts which enabled prelates to excite the schisms which separated the churches ] and that an oecumenical assembly would remedy all these evils. Constantine then resolved to convoke a ge- neral council, and wrote to the pope : " We beseech jou, holy father, to send to us calm and well-informed men. They should bring with them the works whose authority will be necessary to decide all religious questions with the patriarchs Theodore and Macaire. We promise you entire surety for their liberty and life, whatever may be the decisions of the council which we wish to call together. "We hope to be justified in the judginentof God, because of the sincerity of our zeal for religion. We place in him all our trust ; and we beseech him to bless the eflbrts we are making to obtain union among the Christians of the empire. Still we will employ no other power for conviction but that of arg-ument, and we contlemn those who would use vio- lence to bring into subjection the consciences of men. "The chief of our clergy has demanded from us authority to efface from the sacred chronicles the name of the pontiff Vitalian, and preserve that of Honorius. We have not approved of this request, being desirous of maintaining an entire equality between the ecclesiastics of the East and the West ; and to show that we regard them both as orthodox, until the questions raised between them shall be decided by the authority of our synod. " An order has been given by us to the pa- triarch Theodore, the exarch of Italy, to de- fray all the expenses of the prelates and doctors whom you shall send to Constantino- ple, and to give them vessels of war to escort them, if that step shall be judged necessary for the safety of their persons." This letter did not reach the pontiff Dom- nus. The holy father died towards the end of the year 678, before the embassadors of the prince had arrived at Rome. During his reign, the pope obtained the sub- mission of the new archbishop of Ravenna, Reparatus, who, gained secretly by presents from the pontiff', had demanded permission to return to his obedience to the court of Rome. The holy father had consequently solicited from the emperor the abrogation of the de- cree which rendered the metropolitan church of Ravenna, independent of the Holy See, which met with no opposition. Domnus paved with marble and surrounded with columns the court of honour, which was before the church of St. Peter. The church of the Apostles, situated on the Actian way, and that of St. Euphemia, on the Appian way were also repaired by his care. AGATHON, THE EIGHTY-FIRST, POPE. [A. D. 678. — Constantine Pogonatus, Emperor of the East.] Origin of Agathon — His education — His election as pontiff — Disorders in the chvrch of En- gland— Wilfrid, bishop of York, is driven from his church — His journey to Rome — He is re- installed in his see — Agathon receives the letter addressed to Domnus the First by Constan- stine — Reply of the holy father to the prince and his brothers, Heraclius and Tiberius — Letter from the council of Rome, on the ignorance of the clergy — Arrival of the legates in the East — Council of Constantinople — Excommunication of Honorius the First — Remarkable history of eighteen sessions — Death of Agathon. Agathon, the Neapolitan, had been brought up in the monasteries ; he regarded them as the schools where the study of pious practices, and the knowledge of the dogmas of religion were best taught. The senators, the clergy, and the Roman people gave their suffrages for him ; and, in the end, he fully justified, by his fitness, the preference they had bestowed upon him. After his exaltation, the new pope bestowed his attention on the church of England, trou- bled by the ambition and disorder of its priests, who had driven from his see Wilfrid, bishop of York. The illustrious persecuted, resolved to demand justice from the holy father against his suffragans, and undertook the journey to Rome. The fatigues of his pilgrimage were assuaged by the generous cares of Algisus, king of the people of Frigia and of Berchter, sovereign of the Lombards, who gave him escorts to preserve him from the snares and ' dangers of which he might have become the ! victim. rred in the church of St. Peter. Several authors assure us he was the first pontiff who caused to be sung in the canon of the mass these words: "Lamb of (Jod who fakeet away the sins of the world, have pity on us.'" Ho repaired several churches, and in one of them he constructed a magnificent tomb, in which he deposited the body of the blessed St. Leo. ]68 HISTORY OF THE POPES. THE SEVENTIJ CENTURY. MAHOMED. Moses, Jcsns, 31ahom.ed, descendants of Abraham — History of Mahomed — His country and fa- mily— Marrias^c of the prophet — His journeys and studies — He places the black stone in the temple of the Kaabah — Jealousy of the chiefs of his tribe — Apparition of the angel Gabriel — Mahomed receives from God the mission to preach the Koran — Persecutions of the prophet — His predictions — The Kore'eschites ivish to assassinate him — Flight of Mahomed, or the He- gira — Mahomed at Medina — Wars and victories of the prophet — He seizes upon Mecca, and destroys the idols in the temple of the Kaabah — His death — He is sanctified by his followers — His doctrine — Voluptuous paradise of Mahomed. During the seventh century, the empire, divided by numerous schisms, weakened by incessant wars with enemies around it, suf- fered the power which it preserved over the Roman peninsula to be annihilated. The odi- ous policy of the pontiffs, and the incursions of the barbarians, subjugated to the sway of the Holy See, Spain, Gaul, England, and a great number of kingdoms. But, whilst paganism is falling to pieces in the West to make way for the Christian re- ligion, the East sees a new •belief arise. Soon the Koran and the Bible will divide the world, and Mahomed, like Christ, sprung from that ancient nation of nomade shepherds, the de- scendants of Abraham, will effect in the East the most surprising of religious revolutions. Moses, Jesus, Mahomed ! All three child- ren of the Shemitic race, and sons of Abra- ham, have come to reveal sublime religions, which have led the people to the belief in the Bible, the Evangelists, and the Koran — sacred books — which are themselves but the de- velopements and the application of the pre- cepts traced by the finger of Jehovah, on Mount Sinai, on the tables of stone. Moses, the legislator of the Hebrews, has niled for twenty-four centuries ; and his dog- mas have spread throughout the world with the remains of the Jewish people. Mahomed is regarded as the prophet by the people who live under a burning sky, and Christ has be- come the God of the inhabitants of the colder zones. Before passingjudgmentonthe moral causes which led to the fall of Christianity in the East, and in order to be enabled to follow the usurping and perfidious policy of the pontiffs of Rome in the West, it is indispensable to know the history of the prophet. Mahomed or Mahommed was born at Mec- ca, towards the year 570. He was of the fa- mily of the Koreish, descendants of Ishmael, who possessed, for a long period of years, the sovereignty of their city, and the superinten- dance of the Kaabah, a temple founded by the patriarch Abraham himself, according to an- cient traditions. The infancy of the prophet was surrounded by prodigies, which the Ara- bian legendaries are pleased to relate. An orphan from his cradle, he was brought up by his uncle Abon Thaleb, who taught him the business of a merchant. At twelve years of age he conversed with the Christian monks, and astonished them by the profundity and wisdom of his discourse. Some years after he made his first essay in arms, in a war in which his tribe was engaged, and surpassed the old warriors in coolness and courage. Arrived at the age of manhood, he espoused a rich widow called Khadijah, and occupied himself with the care of extending his com- mercial relations in Abyssinia. Egypt, and even in Palestine. He himself directed his caravans from the plains of Yemen, even to Syria ; and in his numerous journeys he ac- quired an exact knowledge of the manners and genius of the population which crowds the sands of Arabia. Frequently, in traverse ing the desert, he quenched his burning thirst with the briny water which springs from the foot of the rare clusters of palm trees, and dried dates were his only nourislmient during the long days of the march. This laborious life added great wealth to the fortune of his wife ; then Mahomed aban- doned the labours which had increased his wealth to give himself up entirely to the study of Arabian poetry, and to comment on the writings of the poets of that nation. At this period, the first citizens of Mecca reconstructed, with their own hands, the Kaa- bah, which had been burned by the impru- dence of a woman. The edifice having been built, there took place a struggle between the chiefs, who pretended to the honour of placing in the exterior angle of the temple, the pledge of alliance which God made with men, or the black stone which the patriarch Abra- ham had before deposited in the Kaabah. Swords were drawn and blood was about to flow on the sacred steps, when, by a heavenly inspiration, they agreed to choose, as arbiter of their difference, the first man whom chance should conduct to the mosque. Mahomed ap- peared, and was declared arbitrator. The prophet ordered four sheiks of the tribe to place the stone upon a rich tapestry, and to raise it as high as their heads, each holding one of the corners of the precious tissue. He then took it and placed it himself in the angle consecrated to receive it. This bold action placed him at the head of the tribes. The Ko- reish, furious at seeing him thus elevate him- self to the power which they exercised over the people, swore his death, and pointed him out as an ambitious man, who sought to ob- tain supreme power. To escape their vengeance, and to put an end to their calumnies, Mahomed resolved to 0'i ^i liili ef Wagner (^ jB'Oui^un. J'A/ut^ " Jlliiluiiud , \ »M/ r ^^ *-} 172 HISTORY OF THE POPES. THE EIGHTH CENTURY. JOHN THE SIXTH, EIGHTY-SEVENTH POPE. [A. D. 705. — Tiberius the Third, Emperor of the East.] Picture of ecclesiastical affairs in the eighth century — Profound ignorance of the clergy — Elec- tion of John the Sixth — Disorders in Italy — State of the English church — Journey of St. Wilfrid to Rome — A council examines the accusations against him — He is justified — The pope obliges him to return to England — Death of John the Sixth. The farther we advance into ecclesiastical history, the more are we scandalized by the conduct of the pontiffs of Rome, and by the oblivion into which they consign the sage precepts of the apostles and the maxims of the first Christians, in order to adopt the cus- toms of paganism and a crowd of superstitious practices opposed to the doctrines of Christ. Thus the eighth century will astonish us as much by the infamy of the princes who go- verned the people, as by the proud audacity of the popes who were seated in the holy city. The kingdoms of the West are ravaged by the Saracens, who, after having conquered Asia and Africa, subjugate also a part of Eu- rope. Disastrous wars succeed between kings ; all the empires are in a state of revolution. To increase the calamity, the clergy light the torch of fanaticism, drive men to the practice of an incredible superstition, and in the midst of a general desolation seek to rule the whole world. The popes, instead of maintaining ecclesi- astical discipline and the purity of the faith, authorize by their example the debauchery of the clergy and the monks. The Holy See pursues its policy of encroachment, not to put an end to the misfortunes of the people, but to establish over the nations a tyranny still more dreadful than that of kings. The Gre- cian emperors are already obliged to implore the aid of the pontiffs to maintain themselves in Italy, and the Lombard kings seek the same protection to preserve their conquests. After the death of Sergius the First, the chair of St. Peter remained vacant for fifty days, and was then occupied by John the Sixth; a priest of Grecian origin. The empe- ror Apsiraarus sent to the new pontiff the pa- trician Theophylactus, the exarch of Ravenna, to engage him to maintain the interests of the court of Constantinople against the king of the Lombards. But the arrival of the embassador excited a violent sedition among the Romans. Soldiers surrounded his residence in order to seize upon his person and put him to death from hatred to the emperor. John the Sixth went into the midst of the tumult, addressed exhortations to the crowd, and endeavoured to suspend the effects of the fury of the peo- ple. Theophylactus, availing himself of a mo- ment of calm, embarked upon the Tiber, and returned in disgrace to Constantinople. Some time after, the pontiff, gained over by the presents of Apsimarus, dared to express sentiments favourable to the empire, Gilulph, duke of Benevento, determined to bring him back, through fear, to the party of the Lom- bards. He immediately invaded Campania, sacked the cities, ravaged the country, burned up the domains of the clergy, and led a great number of the citizens into captivity. The holy father, unable to repress this violence, besought the duke of Benevento to grant him peace. The embassadors were the bearers of considerable sums which they offered him to purchase his alliance, and to obtain the liberty of the citizens who had been torn from their fire-sides and their families. During the following year the church of England was still troubTed by St. Wilfrid, who, from his attachment to the court of Rome, re- fused to obey the metropolitan of Canterbury, under the pretext that his see was indepen- dent, by virtue of a privilege or a grant which the pontiff Agathon had given to him. Wil- frid, condemned by an assembly of the bishops of Great Britain, appealed from their decision to the pope, passed the sea a second time, followed by some of his suffragans, and came to lay his complaint before John the Sixth, who received him with great honours. Whilst they were examining his cause, the deputies of Berthvvold, the archbishop of Canterbury, arrived in Italy, and laid also before the Holy See an accusation against Wilfrid. A council having been convened to listen to the complaints of the two parties, the ac- cused appeared before the fathers and thus addressed them; "The holy pope Agathon made a decree which his pious successors, Benedict and Sergius, confirmed, which as- sures our authority over the see of York, and over the monasteries of the kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia. We have offered, in full synod, to render to the metropolitan Berthwold, the respect which is due to him as the primate of England, established in this high dignity by the Holy See ; but we have canonically refused to submit to a judgment of deposition, pronounced against us without referring it to your light." After having heard the envoys of the me- tropolitan of Canterbury, and examined all parts of the judgment, the assembly declared Wilfrid fully justified and sent him back ab- solved. The pope then wrote to kings Ethel- red and Alfred — "Princes of Mercia and Northumbria, we request you to inform bishop Berthwold that we have rejected his calum- nious accusation against Wilfrid, and that this last is maintained by our authority in all the HISTORY OF THE POPES. 173 rights which our predecessors have granted pie and silk, as ornaments for the English to him." churches. The holy prelate of York recrossed the seas, John the Sixth died on the 10th of January, carrying with him from Rome a great number in the year 705, shortly after the departure of relics, banners, images, and stuffs of pur- , of Wilfrid. JOHN THE SEVENTH, EIGHTY-EIGHTH POPE. [A. D. 705. — Justinian the Second, Emperor of the East.] Election of the pontiff — He authorizes by his silence the proceedings of the council "m TrulhoP held at Constantinople — Aribcrt gives the popes the Cottian Alps — Actions attributed to John — His death. When the funeral solemnities of John the Sixth were terminated, the people, the gran- dees, the clergy of Rome, assembled in the church of St. John of the Lateran, to choose a pontiff. All the suffrages united upon a priest, a Greek by birth, who passed for a learned man in those times of ignorance ; the new pope was ordained under the name of John the Seventh. The emperor Justinian, who had remounted the throne, sent to him two metropolitans, bearing the proceedings of the council '-in Trulho,"' and a letter, in which he besought him to assemble, immediately, a synod of Latin bishops, to approve of the regulations adopted by the fathers. John feared to excite the resentment of the prince, by condemning the six volumes of canons which were addressed to him, and yet did not wish to compromit his authority by ap- I proving of proceedings which the churches of ! Italy had declared to be opposed to the dignity of the court of Rome. He sent back the proceed- ings to Constantinople, without making any clianire in them, and without deciding any thiriir. leavingJustinian at liberty to iiiterprethis j silence as an approval of the decretals, which | were universally received by the churches of | the East. This is the only act which history has preserved to us of this ephemeral pontifi- cate. The holy father died in the year 707, after a reign of eighteen months. He was interred in the cathedral, before an oratorj' which he had built to the Virgin. The walls of this church were adorned with paintings of the most costly mosaics, which had been executed by his orders. John the Seventh repaired, besides, several churches, and particularly that of St. Mary, in which he established his residence. He gave to it a great number of pictures, among which is found his portrait. He gave to the clergy sacred vases of gold and silver, and a chalice of massive gold, weighing more than twenty pounds, and enriched with precious stones. Paul, the deacon, relates, that during his pontificate, Aribert the Second, whose father had usurped the throne of the Lombards, de- siring to render the popes favourable to him, augmented their domains, by the patrimony of the Cottian Alps; and that the deed of this donation, written in letters of gold, was remit- ted to John the Seventh, by the embassadors of the monarch. SISINNIUS, EIGHTY-NINTH POPE. [A. D. 708. — Justinian the Second, Emperor of the East.] Vacancy in the Holy See — Election of Sisinnius — His infirmities — He dies after a pontificate of twenty days. Since freedom of election had been given to the Roman church, the principal leaders of the Italian clergy, after the death of the pontilf, placed themselves at the head of par- ties to seize the chair of St. Peter ; and their intrigues frequently occasioned long interreg- nums. The wise citizens, in order to bring all competitors into harmony, then chose some priest who belonged to none of the factions. John the Seventh had been dead three months, and none of his cotemporaries had been able to prevail over their adversaries. The senate and the people determined then to elevate to the Holy See, the bishop Sisin- nius, a Syrian by nation, and the son of a Greek priest, named John. This venerable prelate, worn down by in- firmities, was subject to attacks of the gout, 80 severe that he could not even carry his hands to his mouth. 174 HISTORY OF THE POPES, Notwithstanding his severe suffering, his holiness showed great firmness of soul, dis- played a surprising activity in the government of the church, distributed numerous alms to the poor, endeavoured to produce a reform in the morals of the clergy, and even undertook to build up the walls of Rome, which had fallen into ruins. Death suddenly arrested him in the midst of his apostolical labours, after a pontilicate of twenty and some days, in the month of February, of the year 708. He was interred at St. Peter's. During the reign of Sisinnius, St. Bonnet, bishop of Clermont, came on a pilgrimage to Rome to visit the tombs of the apostles, and to obtain from the sovereign pontiff the con- firmation of his title of bishop, which was ac- tively contested with him by the ecclesiastics cf his diocese, on account of the intrigues which took place before his election. As the prelate brought with him rich pre- sents, in expiation of his fault, the pope showed himself indulgent, and confirmed his nomination, on condition that he would con- secrate all the products of his bishopric to pious foundations in alms-giving. St. Bonnet executed so religiously the pe- nance which had been imposed upon him, that he was called the friend of the poor, and merited to be canonized. CONSTANTINE THE FIRST, NINETIETH TOPE. [A. D. 708. — Justinian the Second, Philippicus, Anastasius, Emperors of the East.] Intrigues for the election of popes — Exaltation of Constantinc — Quarrel of the pontiff and the archbishop of Ravenna — Felix is besieged in his metropolis, laden with chains and conducted to Constantinople — The legate of the pope causes his tongue to be torn out, and his eyes put out with a red-hot iron — Pilgrimages of the faithful to Rome — New cruelties of the pope — His journey to Constantinople — tie is received by the prince with great honours — Revolt of Philippicus Bardancs — He seizes the throne and publicly burns the acts of the council which condemned the Monothcliics — The pope excites seditions in Rome — Anastasius obtains the em- pire— He re-establishes the decrees of the sixth council — Zeal of prince Anastasius for the church — Triumph of the pope — His death. At this period, the Greek priests and monks, driven from their churches by the Arabs, and by the frequent revolutions which desolated the empire, took refuge in Italy and Rome. Thus the Holy See, at the commencement of the eighth century, was constantly filled by Greek priests, who were in a great majority in Italy. After the death of the Syrian, Si- sinnius, a prelate of the same nation, was chosen to succeed him, who was consecrated by the name of Constantine. Become sovereign pontiff, through the in- trigues of his friends, Constantine hastened to fulfil the promises he had made previous to his election, and the archbishopric of Ra- venna was given to the deacon Phillip, who had been one of the most ardent supporters of his party. The new patriarch, finding himself seated on the most important see of Italy, wished to assure its independence, and refused to renew the promises of fidelity and obedience to the Roman church which his predecessors had made. He assembled troops, fortified the city of Ravenna, and pre- pared to resist the thunder of the pontiff by force of arms. Constantine comprehending the inutility of anathemas against so powerful an ecclesias- tic, sent legates to the emperor Justinian to obtain troops, with which to subjug-ate the rebellious priest. The prince immediately sent the patrician Theodore at the head of an army. The city was taken by assault ; Felix, arrested by the soldiers, was loaded with chains, taken to Constantinople, and plunged into a dungeon. Finally, by order of the le- gate, he was brought out of prison, his tongue was torn out, his eyes put out, and he sent into exile. This cruelty, exercised at the in- stigation of Constantine, was but the prelude to still more terrible executions. The legate obtained from the weak Justi- nian an order to put out the eyes of the patri- arch Callinicus, and after the punishment the unfortunate prelate was sent to Rome, where the holy father exercised on him all the tor- tures which the ingenious cruelty of a priest could invent. Pilgrimages -were already regarded, during this century, as the most meritorious work before God. Men whose lives had been soiled by debaucheries or crimes, could compensate for their iniquities by making a journey to the holy city. Nobles, dukes, and even kings, came to prostrate themselves before the tomb of the apostles — implored pardon for their sins — offered rich presents to St. Peter, and received in exchange the absolution of the pontiffs of Rome. Conrad prince of the Mercians, and the king of the Eastern Saxons, named Offa, yielding to the general infatuation, abandoned their kingdoms and came to Italy, bringing with them immense treasures, destined for the holy father. Constantine rendered to them great honours, surrounded them with hypocritical monks, and by dwelling on the horrors of another life, so alarnied their coarse HISTORY OF THE POPES, 175 minds as to determine them to embrace the monastic life. Both died some time after, cOiulernning perchance the fanaticism which had caused them to forget their wives, their chilih-en, and even their kingdoms. In the following year, the pope yielded at length to the entreaties of the emperor, who besought him to come to Constantinople to regulate the afi'airs of the Eastern churches. He embarked at Porto, accompanied by two bishops, three priests, and some monks. He went towards Greece, passed the winter in Otranto, and then went to the imperial city, where Justinian awaited him. Tiberius, the son of the emperor, and the patriarch, went seven miles from the city to meet the holy father; they were followed by the grandees of the empire, the clergy, the magistrates, and an innumerable crowd of citizens. On his arrival, Constantine cele- brated a solemn mass in the church of St. Sophia; and after the ceremony, the same cortege conducted him to the palace of Pla- cidius, which was prepared for his reception. Anastasius assures us, that the emperor, in the presence of the people, kissed the foot of the pope, and that the people admired the humility of this good prince. He remarks that this action was singular, and glorifies Justinian for having been the first to set, to the powerful of the earth, the example of kissing the sandals of the bishop of Rome. During his sojourn at the court of Byzan- tium, the holy father approved of the pro- ceedings of the council "in Trullo," and fre- quently conferred with the monarch on the interests of the church and the state. Jus- tinian was then preparing an expedition ag-ainst the inhabitants of the Chersonesus, who endeavoured to assassinate him when he took refuge among them. Constantine, foreseeing the difficulties of such an enter- prise against a warlike people, endeavoured to divert the prince from his project; but his just remonstrances were useless, and the troops received orders to embark for this dis- tant peninsula. The soldiers had scarcely arrived under the walls of the city, when, fatigued by forced marches, and irritated against their leaders, whose improvidence had left them exposed to all sorts of privations, they revolted against their generals, fraternized with the citizens and proclaimed emperor, under the name of Philippifus. the Armenian Bardanes, the gene- ral who had before been exiled by Justinian to the very place which they came to besiege. The new sovereign immediately marched on Constantinople, at the head of the army which had chosen him for its chief. He took the capital by assault, and having seized upon Justinian, out off his head and remained sole master of the empire. The pope, who was then on his way to Ita- ly, received on his arrival in Rome a letter from the em]K'ror, which ordered him to ap- prove Monothelism and reject the sixth gene- ral council, threatening to persecute the or- thodox ecclesiastics in case of his refusal. Philippicus was in fact scarcely seated on his throne, when he convoked an assembly of bishops, in which the sixth council was ana- thematized, and the decrees which had been made by the fathers were condemned to be burned publicly before the imperial palace. Bardanes then nominated Monothelite pre- lates to govern the Greek churches, and re- placed in the sacred writings the names of Sergius, Pyrrhus, Honorius. and other heretics. Constantine hastened, on his side, to elevate in the church of St. Peter an immense roll, which contained the six general councils. He ordered the faithful to honour them as the in- spirations of the holy spirit; he prohibited any one from pronouncing the name of the usurper in the public prayers — of receiving his letters, portrait, or even the money struck with his effigy. In placing himself thus openly in opposition to Philippicus Bardanes, the pope had not only in view the project of separating himself from the Greek church, but he wished to break the bonds which attached the Holy See to the empire ; and, under the pretence of or- thodoxy, to give new aliment to the secret hatred which divided Italy and Greece, and to place the successors of the apostles within reach of shaking off the yoke of the emperors of the East. The people of Rome, always excessive in their anger and their joy, seconded the policy of the pontifl', and decreed that neither the title nor the authority of Bardanes the Heretic should be recognized. The senate prohibited any one from receiving his statues or his por- traits, and from pronouncing his name in reli- gious solemnities; and did not wish to recognise the new governor, named Peter, sent by Phi- lippicus. Sustained by the clergy, Christo- pher, the old titulary governor, essayed to maintain himself in the city; but Peter re- sisted him with an armed hand, and blood flowed upon the steps of the pontifical palace. The pope, who had excited the revolt, being then satisfied at seeing that his power already balanced that of the sovereign, advanced into the midst of the rebels, clothed in his sacer- dotal robes, surrounded by his bishops, and preceded by crosses and banners. This im- posing spectacle influenced the superstitious minds of the people and the soldiers; quiet was then re-established, and Peter not daring any longer to count on the devotion of his troops, retired inunediately to Ravenna. They then learned by letters from Sicily that the usiu-per had been deposed, and that Anastasius, an orthodox prince, had obtained the empire. The new monarch re-established the decrees of the sixth council, and addressed to Con.stantine his profession of faith and the synodical letters of John, whom he had named ])atriarch of Coii.'^tantinople. The prelate wrote to th(! court of Rome in these terms: "We inform you, most holy father, that the tyrant Bardanes placed over our see a man who wns not even of the body of the Byzan- tine" church, and who partook of th(« errors of his master. 176 HISTORY OF THE POPES. •'We at first resisted the menaces of the ' tyrant by refusing to recognise his bishop; but ■ the supplications of the faithful determined us to consecrate him, that our people ra.ight i escape the horrors of a persecution. " We accuse ourselves also of having ana- | thematized the sixth general council, and we repent having committed an action so con- demnable. "Your legate will inform you of our grief for this act, in which we were forced to ab- jure the faith we loudly profess before you. He will also tell you, we have braved the or- ders of Bardanes, by preserving preciously in our own residence the acts of the council, which contained the subscriptions of the bish- ops and of the emperor Constantine. "We dare then to hope, that our conduct will not be condemned by your wisdom ; and we beseech you to address us in your turn your synodical letters as the pledge of a mu- tual charity." Historians do not speak of the reply of the pope ; they only relate that the deacon Agathon annexed a copy of the letter of John to the acts of the sixth council. The envoys of Anastasius were received with the greatest honours by the holy father, as were also the new officers who came in the name of the prince to take possession of the government of Italy. They had orders to protect the Holy See in all circumstances; to maintain the integrity and assure the privi- leges of the city and church of Home. Some months after, the old metropolitan of Ravenna, who was so cruelly mutilated and deposed from his see, at the commence- ment of this pontificate, became reconciled to Constantine, and was recalled from his exile. FelLx was admitted to prostrate him- self at the feet of the pope, to remit him his act of submission, and to renew his oath of obedience, which he could not do but by in- articulate sounds. He paid into the treasu- ry an enormous sum for his ordination, and was rehistalled in his archbishopric in con- tempt of the canons, which prohibited from preserving in orders, prelates deprived of sight and voice. Benedict, archbishop of Milan, also came on a pilgrimage to Rome, and disputed with the Holy See the right of consecrating the chiefs of the clergy of Pavia. Notwithstand- ing the equity of his demands and the mode- ration of his remonstrances, he was condemn- ed by the .pope, who declared himself a judge in his own cause. Constantine died soon after, and was in- terred in the beginning of the year 715, in the cathedral of St. Peter. He was the first who assembled a council to authorize the use of images in churches. GREGORY THE SECOND, NINETY-EIRST POPE. [A. D. 715. — Anastasius the Second, Theodosius the Third, Leo the Isauarian, Emperors of the East.] History of Gregory before his pontificate — The Lomhards seize the city of Como — The pope purchases the treason of duke John — The church of Bavaria — Gregory founds many monas- teries— He claims the treasures of the church, and dissipates the property of the poor to enrich the monks — Letters of the pope — Council of Rome — Attempt to assassinate the pontiff — He excites a general revolt in Italy — War of the images — Hypocrisy of the pope — Attempts of the pope against the emperor — Neiv revolt in Italy — Fury of the Romans — Disputes between the bishops — Insolence of the pontiff — His death. Gregory was the son of the patrician Marce Land, a Roman by birth. Brought up in the patriarchal residence of the Lateran, under the eyes of the pontiff Sergius the First, he surrendered himself from his youth to the study of the Holy Scriptures, and of sacred and profane eloquence. He spoke with re- markable facility and elegance, and his talent procured for him the surname of Dialogus. At Byzantium he had excited the admiration of the bishops, the grandees, and the prince, by the wisdom of his discourse and the purity of his morals. In recompense for the services he had ren- dered the church, he was elevated in succes- sion to the posts of sub-deacon, sacellary, and librarian ; and at length, forty days after the death of Constantine, the clergy chose him as the one most worthy to occupy the chair of St. Peter. Gregory undertook to rebuild the walls of Rome, but he was soon obliged to abandon this useful project to look after the defence of Italy. At this period, the emperors of the East only thought of their Italian provinces to levy contributions on them : and when they ruined them, they left them exposed almost without defence to the incursions of the Lom- bards. These people, at the commencement of the pontificate of Gregory, seized on the city of Como and established themselves in the province. The holy father sent an em- bassy to them to demand the restitution of a city which belonged to the empire ; and even offered them considerable sums to indemnify them for the expenses of the war; but they refused. All negotiations being useless, he menaced them with the wrath of God, and fulminated a terrible excommunication against them. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 177 Neither entreaties nor anathemas were able to cliauge the determination of the Lombards. Gregory then brought into play the resources of policy and treason ; he wrote to duke John, governor of Naples, and an ally of the Lom- bards, offering him thirty pounds of gold to surprise Como. John immediately executed the orders of the pope. He introduced troops into the city during the night, murdered the sentinels, drove out the Lombards, and re- mained master of the city. This bold action increased the influence of Gregory, and permitted him to establish oir a solid basis the edifice of papal .despotism. He sent numerous spies to the courts of Con- stantinople, France, and England, and filled all the strange sees with priests of his church. Through his exertions, Christianity made great progress in Germany, and two of his fa- vourites, George and Dorotheus, were sent into Bavaria with long instructions for the Christians of that province. The instructions of the pontiff ran thus: "After having given your letters to the sovereign duke of the country, you will consult with him as to as- sembling a council of the priests, magistrates, and principal men of the nation. You will then examine the ecclesiastics, and you will give, in our name, the power of celebrating divine service — of performing or chanting the mass to those whose ordination you shall find canonical and faith pure, teaching them at all times the rites and traditions of the Roman church. "You will prohibit from exercising any func- tion of worship, those whom you shall judge unworthy of the priesthood, and you shall nominate their successors. Be careful to give to every church a clergy sufficiently numer- ous, to enable them to celebrate the mass pro- perly— the services by day and night, and to read the holy books. "When you shall establish bishops, you shall regulate the dependencies of each see ; and you shall have regard to distances and the jurisdiction of the lords. If you shall create three bishops, or a greater number, you will reserve the principal see for a me- tropolitan, whom we shall send from Rome. •'You will consecrate the new prelates bj^ the authority of St. Peter; and you will recom- mend to them not to make illicit ordination.s, to preserve the propertyof their diocese, and to diviile it into four parts as the canons proviile. They will administer baptism at Easter or Penteco.st, and not at any other time, except in case of necessity. They will not condemn marriage mider pretence of incontinence, nor authorize debauchery under pretence of mar- riage. "They will prohibit divorces, polygamy, and incestuous unions; and will teach that the monastic state is preferable to the .^secular, and continence more meritorious in the eyes of God than the chastest union. They will not call immodest the food necessary for the support of man, unless it shall have been im- molated to idols. They will proscribe en- VOL. I. X chantments, conjurations, auguries, and the observances of lucky and unlucky days. "You will instruct the prelates and princi- pal ecclesiastics, that they may teach to the faithful the dogmas of the resurrection of the body, and of tlie eternity of the pains of hell. You will ord(!r them to combat the false doc- trines spread through the country in regard to demons, which, according to popular belief, can resume their original dignity as archangels of God, after a long series of ages." The legates followed their instructionsclose- ly, and reduced the new churches of Ger- many to the rule of the Holy See. St. Corbinian of Chartres, undertook the journey to Rome in the same year, 716, to confess his iimormost thoughts to the pope, and his fear, lest thi' gifts and visits of young women would be the cause of his eternal damnation, by exciting in his heart the de- sires of the flesh. Gregory hastened to re- assure his weak conscience, and showed to the monk that he himself received in his apartment all the most beautiful ladies of the city. He passed the holy monk through all the grades of the mhiistry ; ordained him a bishop : gave him the pallium, and authorized him to preach the gospel throughout the world. Corbinian submitted to the duties of his new dignity, and after having sworn obedience to the Holy See, he returned to France to propagate the word of God, and above all, to reform the morals of the monks, which had sunk to the lowest degree of corruption and infamy. Gregory the Second endeavoured to intro- duce the same reforms into the Italian con- vents; he re-established the monastery of Monte Cassino, which had been ruined by the Lombards more than a century before, and resolved to re-establish in this retreat, the severity of the rule of St. Benedict for the purpose of forming monks who might set an example to other monks. Petronax. and several brethren from the convent of the Lateran, were designated to inhabit the new monastery; they afterwards joined to them some hermits who lived in great simplicity. Petronax was named superior, and became the sixth abbot of this community, since the death of St. Benedict its founder. He entirely re-constructed the abbey, increased in size the old church of St. JNIartin, and consecrated an altar in honour of the Virgin and of the holy martyrs Faustin and Joveius. In his zeal, the pope re-establi.shed the neighbouring monastery of the church of St. Paul, whose buildings had been abandoned very many years. He filled it with monks, "to sing the praises of God, by day and by night." He transformed into a convent the hospital of old men, situated in the rear of the church of St. Maria Majora, and raised again the cloisters of St. Andrew of Barbara, whose walls were in ruins. His fanaticism for con- vents was pushed to such an excess, that af- ter the death of Honest.a, his mother, he changed his house into a monastery^ which 178 HISTORY OF THE POPES. he dedicated to St. Agatha. He gave large revenues to this church, very many houses in the city, several farms, much distant land, and a tabernacle of silver weighing seven hundred pounds. All these liberalities were made at the ex- pense of the people, for the purpose of leading into monastic idleness, adulterers, robbers, and murderers who wished to escape human justice by devoting themselves to the Holy See. The zeal which the pontiff exhibited for the reform of the regular clergy, did not change the morals of the convents; on the contrary, the favours which he granted to religious communities, multiplied to infinity the num- ber of monks, and increased debauchery' and scandal. In 720, Winfred, an English priest, came to Rome and asked from the pontiff the power to labour for the conversion of pagan nations. Gregory ordered that he should be received with distinction in his house of hospitality; and having been brought to St. Peter's, passed a whole day in conference with him, discuss- ing matters of religion and the means of sub- jecting the infidel. After this he consented to name him as bishop of the people among whom he should preach the gospel. On the 30th of November, the holy monk was solemn- ly ordained under the name of Boniface, and took an oath, by which he engaged to defend the purity of the faith and the unity of the church against all the enemies of religion ; to remain always submissive to the Holy See ; to concur in the aggrandizement of the pon- tifical authority, and not to commune with prelates who were in opposition to the court of Rome. Gregory gave him a large volume of eccle- siastical canons or rules for his conduct, and confided to him letters which should assure him the protection of the French bishops and princes. In the first, which was addressed to Charles Martel, the holy father demanded the aid of this conqueror, to render the courageous mission of Winfred profitable, who was going to convert the infidels in the country east of the Rhine. In another letter, he exhorted the bishops, priests, deacons, dukes, counts, and all Christians, to treat Boniface and the eccle- siastics of his train with honour; to give them money, provisions, and all the aid necessary to accomplish this pious enterprise ; menacing Avith anathema all who refused to assist them in this meritorious work. A third letter was destined for the faithful of Thuringia, and especially for their princes; the liope congratulated them on having resist- ed the pagans, who wished to lead them back to idolatry. He recommended to them, per- severance in the faith, attachment to the Ro- man church, and obedience to Boniface. The last was written to idolaters. Gregory repre- sented to them the excellence of the Christian religion, exhorting ihem to overthrow the temples of paganism; to become converts to the gospel; to be baptized; to erect churches, ■and to build a palace for the holy apostle. Some time after the ordination of Boniface, the pontiff assembled in the church of St. Pe- ter, a council composed of twenty-two bishops and all the clergy of Rome. The council condemned illicit marriages, and especially those of priests with nuns or with the widows of ecclesiastics. The pope pronounced an anathema against the faithful who espoused a priestess, a deaconess, a nun, a god-mother, the wife of their brother, father, or son ; a niece, a cousin, a relative, or a connection. He particularly excommunicated Adrian and a deaconess named Epiphana, who had mar- ried in contempt of their oaths of chastity and the laws of the church. The holy father con- demned Christians who consulted soothsayers, diviners, or conjurers ; he prohibited the clergy from letting their hair grow, and declared as excommunicated, the lords who usurped the property of the Holy See. During the pontificate of Gregory, the wars of the images recommenced with new fury. These ridiculous quarrels had been at first excited by Philippicus Bardanes, a zealous Monothelite, who had taken from the churches the tableau of the sixth council ; then by pope Constantine, who had anathematized the emperor, and re-established the worship of images in the churches, in obedience, as he said, to the orders which a holy English bishop had received from God himself in a vision. Bardanes having been driven from the em- pire by Anastasius, the policy of the new master of the empire changed the belief of the faithful and favoured orthodoxy. To ren- der himself agreeable to Constantine, the prince permitted his subjects to render divine honours to paintings and statues; and during his reign, the adoration of images invaded the East and the West. Leo, the Isaurian, on his arrival at the throne, was scandalized by seeing the credu- lous people prostrate themselves before the images which filled the churcdies, and under- took to destroy this sacrilegious worship. Gregory highly condemned the orders of the monarch, addressed to him insulting reproach- es, and announced that he would resist with all his power the persecution undertaken against Christianity. Leo endeavoured to bring back the pontiff to more charitable sen- timents, and sent embassadors to him. The pope refused to receive the letters of the prince, and drove the envoys from Rome. Irritated at the insolence of Gregory, the emperor gave orders to Jourdain, his cartu- lary, to John, sub-deacon, and to Basil, cap- tain of his guards, to go to Rome and seize the pontiff, dead or alive. Arrived in the holy city, the officers of Leo showed their orders to Marin, governor of Rome, and concerted with him a plan to seize the pontiff or put him to death; but at the moment of the exe- cution, Marin, who was already sick, was struck by paralysis. This abortive attempt made some noise in the city. The pontiff, warned by his spies, kept on his guard, or- ganized a revolt, and when all the measures HISTORY OF THE POPES. 178* were ready, the priests seized John and Jour- dain and cut off their heads. Basil only es- caped their fury by taking refuge in a monas- tery, where he took the habit of a monk. "to revenge the murder of his officers, the emperor sent into Italy, as exarch, the patri- cian Paul, at the head of a formidable army. He had orders to invest Rome, to depose Gre- gory, to seize his person, and send him to Constantinople. But the pope preached re- bellion, by his band of monks, throughout Italy, was prodigal of gold to the militia, ex- cited the Venetians and Neapolitans, and even addressed himself to the king of the Lom- bards and their dukes, imploring the protec- tion of their arms. The preaching of the monks produced mar- vels among the superstitious and ignorant peo- ple ; at Rome they drove away the magistrates, murdered the guards of the prefect, and tore down the ensigns of the empire. At Naples, the governor, his son, his officers and .soldiers, were massacred. At Ravenna, the exarch Paul, his wife and daughters were beheaded; final- ly, entire Italy, excited by the pontiff, resolved to free itself from the rule of the Greek em- perors. Under the pretext of great zeal for the wor- ship of images, the Lombards profited by these troubles, and seized upon the states of the emperor as belonging to an excommuni- cated person. Leo offered them large sums, bought their alliance, and obtained from them a promise not only to withdraw from the in- vaded territory, but also to join his troops in besieging the holy city. Gregory on his side, sent rich presents to Luitprand, kin^of the Lombards, and detach- ed him from the cause of Leo. The Arian monarch then proposed to become the arbi- trator between the emperor and the pope. By his mediation the Holy See obtained peace on favourable terms, and an apparent tranquillity succeeded for some time the deplorable vio- lence which had overwhelmed Italy. Soon after, the war recommenced with more fury than ever. Leo maintained that the ado- ration paid to paintings and statues was the most culpable kind of idolatry, and wished to bring the faithful to proscribe a worship, con- demned by the clergy, the irrandees. and even the very people of Constantinople. The pa- triarch Germain, a slave of the Holy See, alone dared to resist the orders of the prince, and in a transport of fanatical zeal affixed to the doors of his church a pastoral letter, in which he declared that the worship of images hav- ing always been in use in the church, he was ready to suffer martyrdom in its defence. He then sent embassadors to Rome to advise the pope of the resistance which he opposed to the will of a heretical tyrant, and to ask his advice. The pontiff replied in these terms: "The vigour with which you have defended the faith before the image-breaking Leo, will find its recompense in a better world. "Still, my brother, do not forget, that to as- sure our rule over the people, we should shun opposing too openly established belief; thus you will say to the faithful, that the homage rendered to representations placed in Chris- tian temples, has nothing in common with the practices of paganism, which we are accused of imitating; you will endeavour to make them understand, that in our worship, they must consider the intention and not the action. Besides, there exists no resemblance between the statues of the pagans and our paintings; the images of a being who is not, who never has been, and whom we do not find but in fables and the inventions of mythology, are idols. "But can the existence of God be denied ? Has not the Virgin dwelt among men ? Was not Jesus born in her womb ? Did he not per- form miracles and suffer the punishment of the cross 1 Did not his apostles see him after his resurrection ? It is pleasing to God, that heaven, the earth, and the sea, animals and plants, should relate these marvels, by speech, by writing, by painting, and by sculpture ! " If impious wretches accuse the church of idolatry, because she venerates images, let them be regarded as dogs, whose brayings strike in vain upon the ears of their masters ; and say to them as to the Jew.s, ' Israel thou hast not profited by the perceptible things which God has given thee to lead thee to him : thou hast preferred the heifer of Sama- ria, the rod of Aaron, the stone from which the water flowed, Baal, Baalpeor and As- tarte, to the holy tabernacle of God ; in fine, thou hast adored the creature as Jehovah. .' " Gregory held a new council at Rome, and in the presence of a great number of bishops, a second time anathematized the emperor, prohibited all people from paying him any tribute ; freed them from the oath of fidelity ; commanded them in the name of religion to take up arms and to drive from the throne the heretical Leo, who was deposed from the sovereign power by the will of God. Italy replied to the imprecations of the sovereign pontiff by rising in arms. The Ve- netian broke the images of the prince, burned his ordinances, cast his officers into the sea, and all swore they would die in defence of reliiiion and the pope. At Rome, men, wo- men, and children swore upon the cross to die for the images. In Campania they mas- sacred the new duke of Naples and his son, who had declared for the prince. In the five cities of Peantapolis, the officers of the empire were murdered by the priests them.-^elves. In all the cities they raised upon the walls the standard of revolt. In the midst of these massacres, the hypo- critical Gregory showered around him alms; ordered professions of his clergy ; walked with naked feet throuah the streets of the city ; kis.sed the dust, and recited long prayers in the churches, beseeching God to put an end to the hostilities; at the same time he glorified his partisans, exhorted them to preserve the faith, and concealed under the mask of reli- gious humility the ambition which devoured him, and the hatred which he bore to all par- 180 HISTORY OF THE POPES, ties. His legates induced king Luitprand and the Lombard dukes to march with their troops against Ravenna, in which the patri- cian Eutychius had shut himself up, and at the same time other embassadors went fur- tively from Rome to excite against the Lom- bards, the patriarch of Grada, the duke Mar- tel, and the people of Venetia and Istria. Finally, the Holy See triumphed. Leo, threatened by the fury of tlie adorers of images, who had already attempted to assas- sinate him, even in his palace, and fear- ing lest the Roman peninsula should detach itself from the empire, addressed letters to the pontiff, informing him that he would sub- mit to the decision of a council, which he be- sought him to convoke. Gregory did not permit the envoys of the emperor to enter Rome; he was unwilling even to touch the letter which they carried, and caused it to be read by a deacon. The following is his reply to the monarch. "The universal head of the church, the successor of the apostles, the vicar of Christ, prays God to send Satan upon earth to snatch from his throne the odious image-btpaker who perse- cutes the faith." The pope died soon after these events. He was interred in St. Peter's at Rome, on the 13th of February, 731. There have been found priests, bold enough to place in the rank of saints, a pontiff who, for fifteen years, had filled Italy with blood and murder, and who had torn from the cre- dulity of the people two thousand one hun- dred and sixty pennies of gold to enrich the monks ! Father Pagi relates a miracle, which, in his opinion, should alone suffice to elevate Gre- gory as high in heaven as the apostles. " Duke Eudes," wrote the monk, " solicted the court of Rome for some time to send him some relics. The holy father yielded to his entreaties, and sent him three sponges with which they had washed the tables of the palace of the Late- ran. Gregory obtained from God, that these sponges should render the troops who fought in the war against the Saracens invincible! In fact," adds the venerable monk, "when the sponges arrived in camp, they were cut in small pieces and distributed to the soldiers, and of all who ate of them, not one Avas either wounded or slain ! ! !" GREGORY THE THIRD, NINETY-SECOND POPE. [A. D. 731. — Leo the Third, and Constantine, called Copronynus, Emperors of the East.] Election of Gregory the Third — His bold letters to the Emperor Leo the Third — Council of Rome against the image-breakers — The emperor arms against the pope, but his feet is dispersed by tempests — Revolts in Italy — The pope is attacked by the Lombards — Gregory implores the aid of Charles Martel and sends him rich presents — The French prince refuses to svccoiir the pope — Success of the mission of Boniface in Germany — His letter addressed to Gregory — Journey of Boniface to Rome — Death of Gregory the Third — Actions of the pontiff. The Holy See remained vacant during thir- ty-five days, which were employed in cele- brating the funeral of Gregory the Second. After the ceremonies, the Roman people, led on as if by divine inspiration, took from the midst of the crowd the priest Gregory, and chose him pontiff, because he had the same name as his predecessor. The new pope was a Syrian by birth, and in the opinion of Anastasius, passed for being very regular in his morals, and very well in- formed in the- Sacred Scriptures. He under- stood the Greek and Latin languages, and ex- pressed himself with elegance. Some ancient authors called him Gregory the younger; others confound him wath his predecessor, because he pursued the same policy and abandoned himself to the same excesses against the emperor Leo, in defence of the scandalous worship of images. At the commencement of his pontificate, the emperor having addressed to him a letter, to congratulate him on his advent to the throne of St. Peter, Gregory replied in these terms: " We have found in our archives letters sealed «rith your imperial seal, and subscribed with your own hand in vermilion. In them you confess our holy faith in all its purity, anathe- matizing those who shall dare oppose the de- cisions of the father, whatever may be their rank. Why then are your thoughts now dif- ferent 1 Who obliges you to turn backwards, after having walked for ten years in the good way '] " Until the last years of the pontificate of Gregory the Second, you did nothing agiiinst the worship of images; now you affirm that they replace the idols of paganism in the temple of Christ, and call those who adore them idolaters. You order the statues of the saints to be broken and the ruins of them to be thrown out of the house of God ; and you do not fear the just chastisement of your con- duct, which scandalizes not only Christians but infidels. "How can you fulfil the duties of your station and not interrogate, as emperor, learn- ed and experienced men? They will teach you how to interpret the command of God and refuse adoration to the works of men. Have not the fathers of the church and the six councils left to us holy traditions '? Why do HISTORY OF THE POPES. 181 you refuse to follow their instruction 1 Why do you not receive their testimony ; and why do you persist, on the contrary, in error, igno- rance, and presumption ? " We beseech you to abandon the inspira- tions of pride, and to listen humbly to a dis- course filled with sense, which we address to your simple and plain comprehension. "God prohibited the worship of the works of man, because the idolatrous inhabit- ants of the promised land adored animals of gold, silver, wood, and all kinds of creatures, saying, ' Behold our divinities. ' But there ex- ist things which God himself has designated for our veneration. The tables of the law, the holy ark, and the cherubims, were adored by the Jews, although they were the work of the artisan. So the material representations of our mysteries should be honoured by the faithful, and we cannot condemn those who execute them or who venerate them. "We do not represent God the Father, be- cause it is impossible to paint the divine na- ture which we cannot know; if we knew it, we would represent it in our pictures. You reproach us for rendering homage to planks, stories, and wall ; but the worship which we render them is not servile. It is not a true worship due to God; it is an inferior kind of adoration; it is not absolute, it is relative. If the matter is made into an image representing the Son of God, we say to him — 'Son of God. succour us, save us!' If it is an image of the Virgin, we say to it — 'Holy INlary beseech your Son that he would save our souls;' and finally, if it is to a Martyr, we add — 'Holy Stephen, who didst shed thy blood for Jesus Christ, intercede for us!' We do not place our hope in these images, we do not regard them as divinities; they serve only to arouse the attention of our minds. "You are then given up to error when you condemn the representations, exposed in the churches, to the veneration of the faithful; and Christians are authorized, from your con- duct, to call you a heretic and persecutor. "We shall not cease to repeat, that the em- perors should abstain from ecclesiastical af- fairs and apply themselves solely to those of government; for the union of bishops and princes assure the power of the church and of kings, submits the people to this double and irresistible authority, and maintains our rule over the credulity of men. Still, we should not purchase the union of the thrones of the CfEsars and of St. Peter, by the destruc- tion of the Evangelical doctrine; and since you persecute the images, there cannot be peace between us. "You have written to us to convoke a gene- ral council to examine the questions which divide us. But, suppose it should assemble, where is the emperor, who shall preside, ac- cording to usaire, over its sessions, who shall recompense those who speak wisely, and who shall pursue those who wander from the truth? You are yourself the guilty one whom it would condemn! Do you not see that your efTorts aganist the images is but presumption, ignorance, and barbarity? You should accuse no one but yourself as the sole cause of the scandal, disorders, seditions, murders, and civil wars which have desolated Italy! There is no need of a synod to judge your crimes; all the West has fallen away from obedience to you ; jour statues and your portraits have been broken and trampled under foot — your decretals torn upon the public places, and your officers murdered or driven from Italy. "The Lombards, Sarmatians, and other people of the North, have ravaged the De- capolis; Ravenna remains in their power, after having been pillaged; your strongest places have been taken by assault, so that your ordinances and your army have been powerless to defend them. " You, however, think to frighten us by your threats, by saying, 'I will send my guards to Rome to break the images of the cathedral; I will carry away pope Gregory laden Avith chains, and I will chastise him as my prede- cessor Constantine, chastised thr pontifi Mar- tin.' "Prince, learn that we do not fear your violence; we are in safety in Italy; abase then the pride of your wrath before our au- thorit}', and learn that the successors of St. Peter are the mediators, the sovereign arbi- trators between the East and West." Leo addressed new letters to the holy father, making him propositions full of wisdom. Gre- gory replied to him, "You afhrm that you pos- sess the spiritual and temporal power, because your ancestors united in their persons the double authority of the empire and the priest- hood . . . They might thus speak, who have founded and enriched churches and who have protected them; nevertheless, under their reigns, they have always been submitted to the authority of the bishops. But you who have despoiled them, who have broken their ornaments, how dare you to claim the right of governing them? The devil, who has seized upon your intelligence, obscures all your thoughts and speaks by your mouth. "Learn then, you, whose ignorance and vanity are so great, that Jesus Christ did not come upon earth, but to separate the priest- hood and the empire, the Spirit and the flesh, God and Ca;sar. the pope and the emperor. It is not permitted to bishops to have a charge of the palace of kings; so princes are pro- hibited from sending rude soldiers into the sanctuary of the church. "The elections of the clergy, the ordina- tions of prelates, the administration of the sacraments, the di.'stribution of goods to the poor, and the ecclesiastical jurisdiction apper- tain to priests; the right of governing pro- vinces, of enriching courtiers, of murdering the people, these constitute the power of kings, and we do not infringe on any of these prerogatives. "Let each preserve the power which God has given him, and not seek to usurp that which he refuses to him. Cease then to over- ' throw the images placed in our temples, by I wishing to reform our worship, and by aceus- 182 HISTORY OF THE POPES. ing us of adoring matter. Our churches them- selves, what are they? Stone, wood, lime, which the hand of man has consecrated to God. Why do you not destroy them, as you break the stone and the wood of our statues and the cement of our paintings? Because there must be churches for Christians to come to. to prostrate themselves before the altar of Christ. "Allow then the faithful to employ the riches which they take from Satan to adorn the throne of God; do not deprive fathers and mothers of the sweet satisfaction of showing to their newly baptized children the edifying- images of the saints and martyrs, of the Vir- gin and Jesus Christ, and do not turn aside the common people from the veneration which they bear to the representations of holy his- tories, to plunge them in idleness and de- bauchery." Gregory, after having addressed these let- ters to Leo, assembled a council to con- demn, canonically, the destroyers of images. The metropolitans of Grada and Ravenna, ninety-two bishops, all the clergy of Rome, the senators, the consuls^ and the people, as- sisted at this assembly in fhe church of St. Peter. After long deliberations, the synod ordered that those who contemned the images or profaned the sacred ornaments of religion, should be anathematized and separated from the communion of the faithful. The decree was solemnly subscribed by all the members of the council. Then the clergy of the pro- vinces addressed requests to the emperor to ask for the re-establishment of the paintings and statues in the temples. Leo, irritated by the boldness and insolence of the pope, and exasperated against the pre- lates and people of the Roman peninsula, re- solved to punish these rebellious priests and to draw on them a terrible vengeance. He armed a numerous flotilla and directed it against Ital}'. Unfortunately, in the passage, his vessels, assailed by violent tempests, were stranded or obliged to regain Constantinople. The holy father, on the news of this disaster, ordered public prayers to be made and ren- dered thanks to God for the brilliant miracle, which saved his church from the fury of the image-breaker. Tlie emperor immediately occupied him- self with reorganizing an army and equipping a new fleet. Whilst waiting to commence the chastisement of the rebels, he doubled the capitation tax in Calabria and Sicily, and con- fiscated, in all the provinces submitted to his sway, the property of the patrimony of St. Pe- ter, from whence the revenue was raised to two hundred and twenty-four thousand francs of gold. In the East, the prince condemned to banishment the seditious priests, and im- prisoned several bishops ; but none of these were executed, though the church points out the demoniacal John of Damas, as a victim of his cruelty, and has placed him in the mar- tyrology. Leo, however, shaken upon his throne by the revolts of the pontiff, lost by degrees the most beautiful provinces of his , empire, and became the execration of his peo- ple, who designated him by the name of anti- christ. Gregory soon repented that he had lost the support of the empire. The Lombards, having no longer to fear the Grecian troops, resolved to reduce all Italy to their sway and poured numerous troops into Campania. To arrest this invasion, he had no other resource, but to produce discord among his enemies and to mduce Tharismond, duke of Spoletto, to revolt against Luitprand, king of the Lombards. At the first signal of revolt. Luitprand marched .with his army against the duke of Spoletto and entirely defeated his troops. The latter, pursued by his enemy, took refuge with the holy father, who granted him an asylum and received him with great distinction. The Lombard king, furious at the pope, summoned him to deliver up the rebel, threatening to declare war immediately on the Romans. His demand was rejected, under the pretext, that Christian charity ordains us to suffer the most violent persecutions, rather than violate the duties of hospitality; the latter, irritated at the treachery of the holy father, entered, at the head of his troops, on the territory of the church and laid siege to Rome. In this extremity, Gregory dare not address the emperor to obtain from him any aid; he sent deputies to Charles Martel, claiming in the name of Jesus Christ the aid of the Franks against the Lombards, who had sworn to sack the holy city, massacre the pontitT, and exter- minate all his clergy. The embassadors bore to the king of the Franks, rich presents, pre- cious relics, and the keys of the sepulchre of the apostles. This legation was the first which entered the kingdom of France; "and would to God for the good of the people," adds a protestant author, "that the ultramontanes had never come, or that they had hung the first who presented themselves, threatening with a like fate all those who should have afterwards been willing to incur the risk of such an em- bassy." Charles, however, showed little dis- position to succour the holy city. The pontifi' then wrote him a second letter. "We are in extreme atliiction, my son; for the savings which remained from the past year for the sustenance of the poor and the maintenance of the churches, are now the prey of Luit- prand and Hildebrand, princes of the Lom- bards. They have destroyed all the farms of St. Peter, and carried off all the cattle which they found on them. We have had recourse to your power and have addressed ourselves to your religion; still, up to this very day, we have received from you no consolation. We fear lest you should believe the calumnies which these guilty kings have spread against us; for they appear assured that you will re- fuse us all succour, and to augment our evils and our humiliation, they brave your power and despise your courage. " 'You have had recourse,' say they, 'to Charles Martel to defend you ! Let him come then with his Franks, and let him try to HISTORY OF THE POPES. 183, wrest you from our hands, if he wishes the plains of Italy to drink the blood of his fierce hordes.' '•'Prince, will you not resent the insults they offer you? Will not the children of the chureh of (]aul make any effort to defend their spiritual mother? Will they join our enemies in railinii' at the prince of the apostles, by sayinj^ that St. Peter should himself defend his house and his people, and avenge himself on his enemies without having recourse to the arms of princes'? '• It is true, my dear son, the apostle could annihilate with his terrible sword the barba- rians who desolate his city; but his arm is arrested by God, who wishes to prove the hearts of the faithful, and reserves for you the glory of preserving us from the desolation which threatens us. "We beseech you then, by the griefs of the Virgin, by the suti'erings of Christ, by the fear- ful judg-ments of God at the last day, and by your own safety, not to leave us to perish, by preferring the friendship of the king of the Lombards to that of the prince of the apos- tles.=' Charles Martel did not suffer himself to be moved by the entreaties of the pontiff; he Old)- sent a small sum of money to solace the people of Rome, who were suffering the con- sequences of the treachery of Gregory towards the Lombard prince. At the same period, the English monk. named Winfred, ordained bishop, during the preceding pontificate, and who had been sent into Germany, wrote to Rome to advise the holy father of the success of his mission and to ask his counsel. The pope thus replied to liim : '-We render thanks to God, my brother, on learning from your letter, that you have converted more than one hundred thousand souls to the Christian faith, partly by your eloquence, partly by the aid of the army of Charles prince of the Franks. We grant you our friendship; and still further to recom- pense the zeal which appears in your apos- tolic labours, we give you the pallium and the title of arc'hbisho]). '•Do not relax in your ardour, my dear bro- ther ; and notwithstanding your great age, continue the holj' work you have commenced. You should prcacli the Gospel wherever God shall open to yon the way: for the npostle is like the light which enlightens the world, and passes on without power to arrest its course. "Continue to subject to Christ and to the authority of our see all the people of Ger- many! And, by virtue of the pov.er which W'e have received from St. Peter, we give you power to con.secrate bishops, who shall labour with you, without ceasing, for the instruction of the people who have become Christians. "You will command your priests to admin- ister a second baptism, under the invocation of the Holy Trinity, to those who shall have been baptized by pagan laymen or by an idolatrous priest, who sacrifices to Jupiter and eats the immolated food. "In marriages, you will cause the faithful to observe the degrees of relationship even to the seventh generation; and you will prohibit them from espousing a third wife. The priests shall refuse the holy communion to parricides and incestuous persons, and they will command them to abstain during all their lives from flesh and wines; they will cause them to observe a rigorous fast on Monday.s, Tuesdays, and Fridays, and will not grant them absolution unless they are in danger of death. "Masters who sell their slaves to the pa- gans for human sacrifices, shall be submitted to the penance inflicted on homicides. The bishops shall prevent the new Christians from eating the flesh of horses and dogs; finally, they will proscribe conjurers and sorcerers, and will prohibit auguries and incantations, as well as sacrifices in honour of the dead, or for the sanctification of woods and fountains. "We grant you the right of jurisdiction over all the clergy whom you shall establish; and we desire that you would expedite the period of the journey you are about to make into Italy, to receive our blessing and to con- fer with us on the interests of the infant church of Germany." Boniface yielded to the wishes of the holy father and came to Rome, where he was over- whelmed with honours by Gregory, who made him sit on his right hand in the presence of the grandees and bishops. An historian adds, "that the favours of the pontiff could not, however, be considered as a recompense foi the zeal which the holy old man had shown in the cause of religion, but only as the price of the devotion which he had manifested foi the Holy See, and as the pay for the maxims of obedience, which he had propagated among the barbarians."' The court of Rome already dreamed of es- tablishing the principle of the sovereignty, and of the infallibility of the pope; Gregory dared to say, in full council, that his see was above the "thrones of the earth, and that the pontiffs might conduct all nations to the prince of darkness, without any living man having the right to accuse them of sin, because they were not submitted to the judgment of mor- tals! The English monk, after having visited the tombs of the holy niaityrs. took his leave of the pontiff and (piitted Rome laden with presents and relics. Gregory the Third, according to the libra- rian Anastasius, performed a great number of pious actions. "He repaired," says this au- thor, "all the churches of the apostolical city, especially that of St. Peter. He placed around the sanctuary six precious columns, which the exarch Kutychius had given him; he crowned them with architraves covered with silver, and adorned with figures of Jesus, his apos- tles, and the holy mother in the midst of the virgins. At diflerent places, the sinictnary was ornamented with eolden lilies, candela- bras of silver, and rich perfume pans; and from the veil, which was of silver, surmounted 184 HISTORY OF THE POPES. by a crown of gold, fell a cross enriched with diamonds, which hung suspended over the altar. Between the columns of porphyry were placed a statue of the Virgin Mary, a patine, a chalice, and two vases of colossal size. All these ornaments were of gold and adorned with precious stones. '•The church of St. Mary Majora, contained an image of the Virgin Mary, holding the in- fant Jesus, also of massive gold; and, finally, the church of St. Andrew had received, from the liberality of the pontitl', a statue still more precious than the preceding. The weight of the gold of the dilTerent offerings amounted to more than an hundred and seventy-three pounds, and of the silver to more than five hundred and thirty pounds. "Gregory repaired several monasteries which were in ruins, built new ones, endowed them with large domains, and redeemed the property which had been pledged by debauch- ed monks; he placed priests and monks in several oratories to pray night and day, and ordered that in future, the oblationary sub- deacon of St. Peter's should furnish to the new churches lights and ol^lations; that is to say, bread, wine, and candles to celebrate divine service. He rebuilt a great part of the walls of Rome, and defrayed this enormous expense from his own purse. Finally, he gave a large sum to the dukes of Benevento and Spoletto to purchase a fortress, which de- fended an important position in the states of the Holy See." Gregory died towards the end of the year 741, after a reign of ten years, and after hav- ing concluded a peace with Luitprand king of the Lombards. He was interred in the church of Saint Peter. He was placed, like his predecessor, by the priests in the catalogTie of the saints. Several ecclesiastical historians maintain, that during his pontificate the Musselmen persecuted with violence the Christians of Asia, Africa, and Spain, and made a great number of martyrs. These accusations are evidently false, since it is shown by the tes- timony of cotemporary authors that the ca- liphs re-established the patriarchates of Anti- och and Alejcandria, and even gave bishops to the Nubians who professed Christianity; that, in Spain in especial, the Arabs protected the convents of men, as a safeguard accorded by two chief Musselmen to the inhabitants of the city of Coimbra, attests in an irrefuta- ble manner; the following is the remarkable document: "The Christians shall pay a capitation tax double that of the Arabs; each church shall pay an annual tribute of twenty-five pounds of silver; that of the monasteries shall be fifty, and of the cathedrals double that. The Chris- tians shall have a court of their nation at Co- imbra and Godadatha, to administer justice, only ; they shall put no one to death without the authority of the Arabian sheik or alcade. If a Christian kills a Mahomedan or injures him, he shall be judged equitably by the Arabian law. If he abuses an Arab girl, he shall em- brace Islamism and marry her whom he has seduced, or be put to death. If he seduces a married woman, he shall undergo the punish- ment hiflicted on adulterers. Christian bishops shall not curse the chief Musselmen in their temples, nor in their prayers; and they shall not celebrate the mass, but with closed doors, under a penalty of ten pounds of silver. "The monastery of Raban shall not be sub- mitted to any tax, because the monks point out to us the game when we hunt upon their lands; and because they cordially receive the worshippers of the prophet. It is our will that they possess their property in peace ; that they freely come to Coimbra, and that no impost be demanded from them for the mer- chandize which they buy or sell, in order to testify to Christians our indulgence towards those who do not show themselves rebellious to our paternal rule."' After reading such a document, whose authenticity is irrefutable, it is really impossible to believe in the absurd recitals of the persecutions exercised by the Musselmen. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 185 ZACHARY, THE NINETY-THIRD POPE. [A. D. 741. — CoNSTANTiNE, Called CopronymuS; Emperor of the East.] Election of Zachary — Dangerous position of the Holy See — Peace with the Lombards — Inter- view between Zachary and Luitprand — The pope gives a sumptuous fecust to the king — First period of papal s;randeur — The church in Germany — Letter of Zachary to the French bishops — Complaints against the pope — Decision vpon baptism — Disorders of the clergy in the French provinces — Impostors in Germany — Council of Rome — Persecution of the priest Virgil — The Icing of the Lombards seduced by the pope — Turns monk — Carloman, the brother of Pepin j becomes a monk to save his soul — Foundation of the celebrated abbey of Fulda — Childeric the Third deposed and shut up in a monastery — Pepin usurps the crown of France — The emperor grants several domains of the empire to the Roman church — Second interview between Zachary and Luitprand — Death of the pope. They chose as successor to Gregory the Third, the priest Zachary, a Greek by descent, who was ordained sovereign pontiff on the 28th of November, 741. We are left in ignorance of the intrigues by which Zachary arrived at the pontilical throne; we only know that the Holy See. menaced by powerful enemies, was exposed to the greatest dangers, and that the holy father was obliged to employ all the resources of his policy to save the church from the wrath of the Lombards and the hatrdt of the emperor. On one side, Con- stantine Copronymus the son of Leo, the image- breaker, had inherited the rich domains which his father had torn from the popes and conti- nued the war against the rebels of Italy, and the worship of images : on the other, the French, consultmg less the fanaticism of priests than the interests of the nation, refused to take part in these deplorable wars, allowing Luitprand to ravage Italy and besiege the city of Rome. Thus, the Holy See, which wished to free itself from the imperial authority, was punish- ed for its rebellion by the very consetjuences of its victory, and was about inevitably to fall under the terrible yoke of the Lombards. Zachary, to free himself from this difficult position, had recourse to tricky to negotiation, and filially determined on an infamous act of treachery to Thrasimond, duke of Spoletto, the same whom his predecessor had incited to revolt. He sent embassadors to king Luit- prand, instructed to offer, in his name, rich presents, and to swear to give up Thrasimond to the vengeance of the IvOmbards. On this condition the king promised to conclude a peace, and restore four important cities he had taken from the Holy See during the war. Zachary then united his troops to those of Luitprand and marched against the unfortu- nate duk(! of Spoletto. Thrasimond learned too late the mistake he had made in putting confidence in a priest. Finding himself betrayed by the court of Rome, he immediately submitted to the king and entered into a monastery. The kinir. havinij this enemy no longer to fear, deferred fullilling the promise he had made to Zachary; but, on the contrary, re- tained in his power the cities which he had seized. All the reclamations of the court of Rome being without effect, the pope, accom- panied by a large number of bishops, priests, Vol. L Y and deacons, went to Suterramna, a city situ- ated twelve miles from Spoletto, to confer with Luitprand and demand the execution of the treaty. He was received by the monarch in the church of St. Valentine. The unction of his prayers and his protestations of bound- less devotion, changed the intentions of the sovereign, who not only restored four impor- tant cities, but even gave to the Holy See the patrimonies of Sabina, Narni, Ossino, Ancona, and several others. He confirmed a peace for twenty years with the duchy of Rome, and restored all the captives. On the following day the pontiff consecrated a bishop in the church of St. Valentine, and after the ceremony he invited Luitprand to supper. The tables were covered with the most exquisite meats, the fish of two seas, rare and valuable animals, the fruits of Europe and Asia. Historians relate that the holy fa- ther outdid, in this repast, the sumptuous feasts of Vitellius or LucuUus. Zachary then returned to Rome, assembled the people, and ordered public prayers to thank God for the success of his treachery j and during several days the cleray and the people went in procession from the ancient Pantheon to the church of St. Peter, making the streets resound with songs of gladness in honour of Christ and his infamous vicar. We now enter upon the most remarkable period of papal grandeur. History will show us the bishops of Rome abandoning the prin- ciples of the Bible, trampling under foot the precepts and the morality of Jesus Christ, plunging into all the e.vcesses of depravity, tearing diadems from the foreheads of kings, and crushing the unforiunate people beneath their execrable tyranny. In Italy the church was triumphant. In the East, the quarrel between the image- breakers and image-worshippers continued to trouble the empire. Constantine Copronymus, who, according to Christian authors, was a monster, born from the coupling of two fero- cious beast.s, that only quitted the laboratory of his magicians, or the tower of his as- trologers, to order persecutions against his subjects, who rendered honours to paintings or statues. This tyrant, who was neither Christian, Jew, nor pagan, had no faith but in the prestiges of sorcery; and after he had consulted the entrails of the victims, or in- 186 HISTORY OF THE POPES, voked the manes of his ancestors, there was no cruelty of which he was not capable. I In Germany, the missionary Boniface, not- withstanding his great age, continued to make j numerous conversions. After the death of Gregory, the holy archbishop wrote to the pontiff to renew his oath of obedience and the promise which he had made to the Holy See, to consecrate the last days of his life to sub- jugating to it the numerous proselytes of Ger- many. He informed Zachary of the creation of several bishoprics, and besought him to con- firm these establishments and to authorize him to convoke his new clergy in a synod. "Know, holy father," added he, "that Carloman, the duke of the Franks, has besought me to as- semble a council in the part of the kingdom which is under his control, and has promised to labour with me in the re-establishment of ecclesiastical discipline. This prince thinks, that in order to reform the morals of the Gallic clergy, it is necessary to ordain frequent as- semblages of their chiefs and the lords, for during eighty years the Franks have not held a council, nor nominated metropolitans. The episcopal sees are abandoned to avaricious laymen, clerical debauchees, or to public farmers, like to secular property. Still, be- fore undertaking this reform, I desire to have your instructions, and to understand the canons which regulate the administration of church goods and the morals of the clergy." Zachary, in his reply, approves of the es- tablishment of the new bishoprics, and au- thorizes the holding of a synod in France. He recommends to Boniface to interdict the sacer- dotal functions to bishops, priests, or deacons, who shall have espoused several wives, or who shall have fallen into the sin of the flesh with the virgins consecrated to God. By order of Carloman, the council assem- bled in Germany, on the 21st of April, 742, and all its decisions were submitted to the approval of the Roman pontiff. Zachary re- plied in a synodical letter addressed to the French bishops, in which he praises them for the energetic measures they had taken to drive from their sees schismatical prelates, concubine keepers, sodomites, and murderers. '■What victories," adds the pope, "can a peo- ple hope for, when the God of armies is im- plored by sacrilegious priests, whose impure hands, after having been soiled by luxury and debauchery, profane the divine body of Jesus Christ ? And how can these men dare present themselves as ministers of a God of peace, when they bear upon their vestments the bloody traces of the faithful whom they have murdered'? "But if you have pure priests, exempt from crime — and especially if you obey Boniface, who will instruct you in our name — all infidel nations will fall before your swords; and after the victory, God will recompense you by giving you eternal life." Some years after, the English apostle wrote anew to Zachary to consult him on some very singular facts. We give a faithful translation of his letter, which pictures faithfully the morals of the period. "Gregory the Tlnrd authorized us to designate as our successor a priest whom we pointed out to him; but since the death of your glorious predecessor, the brother of this priest, at the close of an orgy, slew the uncle of the duke of the Franks, and by the law of the Franks, vengeance is per- mitted to all the relatives of the dead on the murderer and the members of his family. Thus, he whom we had designated as our successor, having been forced to iiy, what must I do, most holy father "? "I submit another difficulty to your deci- sion. A man of illustrious birth has been presented to us, who affirms with an oath that he purchased from Gregory the Third, autho- rity to espouse his cousin in the third degree, although she had taken a vow of chastity. He has demanded from us the nuptial benedic- tion under a pretence that his conscience was not quiet, and offers to pay us for a permission to marry. In his country, the union which he has contracted passes for an abominable incest in the eyes of the common people, so that I attribute his return to penitence, not to a motive of religion, but to a fear of a general reprobation. " Some prelates have also complained of the avarice of the court of Rome ; they say that in the holy city all the dignities are sold at auction, and in spite of their desire to obtain the pallium, that they have not dared to ask for it, because they are not rich enough to pay for it. We have repelled these calumnies and condemn their error; and the better to convince them, we beseech you to grant this mark of dignity to our brother Grimm, archbishop of Rouen." Zachary replied to the archbishop Boniface, " We will not suffer it, my brother, that during your life a bishop should be chosen in your place, which would be an infraction of the canons. Beseech God, during your life, that He would give you a worthy successor, and at the hour of death, you will be able to de- signate him before all the people, that he may come to us to be ordained. We grant this favour to you alone, to recompense the zeal you have constantly manifested for the Holy See. "You have submitted to us a case of union of which we cannot approve without violating the canons; nevertheless. I avow, to the shame of our Holy See, that my predecessors have sold like permissions to fill the treasury of St. Peter, when it has been exhausted by wars or by the prodigalities of pontiffs. You have acted prudently in repulsing the accusation of simony which culpable priests brought against us, and in anathematizing those who would sell the gifts of the Holy Spirit." At this period the see of Treves was the oldest in Germany and the largest in extent, so much so that it was called a second Rome. Zachary, jealous of the importance of this church, and under pretext of recompensing the holy bishop Boniface, detached from it the cities of Mayence, Cologne, Liege, Utrecht, Strasburg, Worms,' and Spires, to form an HISTORY OF THE POPES, 187 archbishopric, of which he established the i useless to confess them ; your most secret see at Mayence. By this dismemberment. I thoughts are revealed tomej rise up, and go the greatest metropolis of Germany became in peace to your homes, I give you absolu- the smallest and least important in'its spirit- j tion "?' ual jurisdiction. "Another heretical priest named Clement, Boniface took immediate possession of his j rejects the authority of canons, councils, trea- see, but he found the clergy of the country , tises and decisions of tie fathers : he calls St. plunged in an ignorance so profound that the Jerome, St. Augustine, and St. Gregory im- priests did not understand Latin. One of them posters ; he rejects their dogmas as gross being called before the bishop to baptize an errors, capable of corrupting men, and op- infant, performed it with this formulary — ' posed to the true spirit of the morality of "Baptizo te in nomine Patria, Filia et spiritua Jesus Christ. Clement maintains, that no sancta." The prelate, scandalized by the power has the right of deposing him from the abject state of his new priests, wrote to the episcopate, though he lives in concubinage, holy father to ask of him whether he should having two adulterous sons, and though he perform a second baptism when the first ap- has undergone circumcision. Finall}-, this peared irregular. Zachary replied to him — '• VVe ought not to baptize a second time those who have already received the holy water of baptism; for a simple ignorance of the lan- guage does not introduce religious error into the words; it is enough to render the sacra- ment regular — that it should be administered in the name of the Holy Trinity. Still, in or- der to avoid a scandal which a clergy so ig- norant gives rise to, you will assemble a council to decide what measures it is neces- sary to take to bring back discipline and knowledge to your church." The synod having assembled, Boniface has- tened to inform the pontiff of its proceedings, and advised him in these terms of the disor- ders of the priests of Gaul : "During the thirty years I have been in the service of the Holy See, I have never failed to inform it of all that unworthy priest, introduces Judaism into the church, and permits the faithful to espouse the daughter of a brother or sister. He teaches that the Saviour, by descending to the infernal regions, redeemed all the damned whom he found there — even infidels and idolaters ; and that at the last judgment he will draw from thence all those who shall have received the eucharist; because, adds he, Christ cannot sufier the souls whom he has redeemed by the price of his own blood to burn eternally in hell. "We cannot tolerate by our silence such scandals; and we beseech you, most holy fa- ther, to write to duke Carloman, that these two heretics may be placed in prison, and be subjected to the torture ; and that no one may speak to, or communicate with them." As soon as Zachary received the letter of happens to me, agreeable or otherwise, in or- the archbishop Boniface, he hastened to con^ der to be sustained by its advice. Thus, I ; voke a council at Rome. The false prelates, must advise you of the persecutions of which ' Adalbert and Clement, were excommunicated, I have been the victim, in presiding over the and the proceedings of the synod were ad- council of the Franks as you ordered me. dressed to the primate of the Gauls : " We "False bishops, infamous and sodomite ; exhort you, my brother," wrote the pontiff, priests, shameless and murderous clerks j " to bear with courage the persecutions of bad abound in this country. One of these, the prelate Adalbert, maintains that an angel came from the extremity of the earth, to bring him marvellous relics, by virtue of which he can obtain from God all he asks of him. He dares to affirm, with execrable oaths, that he receives letters from Jesus Christ, and by this sacrilegious knavery he has gained the confidence of families, seduced women and girls, deceived credulous minds, and received sums of money which should have come to the legitimate bishops. " Not only does Adalbert declare himself a saint and a prophet, but even in his pride he has dared to make himself ecjual to the apos- tles, and to consecrate churches in his own honour. He has elevated crosses and oratories priests, and to persevere in your conduct. " Has not Rome itself been filled with scan- dals by its clergy 1 Has not the chair of St. Peter itself been soiled by pontiffs who were guilty of adultery, incest, murder, and poi- soning 1 But God in his goodness has designed at length to grant us peace, and to console us. " Ordain fasts and processions, and we will join our prayers to yours, all unworthy as we are, to call down upon you the clemency of Jesus Christ. Still, though placing all your confidence in God, do not abandon the aid of the temporal power to lead back heretics, and to persecute tnem if they reject the truth. pov ther "We approve of all the decisions of your council. We depose and anathematize Adal- bert and Clement. In conformity with your in the fields, near to fountains, in the woods, desire we have written to duke Carloman, be- and upon rocks, to induce the abandonment seeching him to punish severely those un- of the 5ld churches, and to turn to his own , worthy ecclesiastics, for the edification of the profit the oflerings of the ignorant. He sells churches which are administered by impostor lo the faithful his nails and his hair, as pre- j bishops and priests. cious relics, which they should adore ; and he ! " We know that infamous men, vagabond bla.sj)hemes our holy religion in blaspheming slaves, those guilty of homicides, robberies, the sacrament of confession. He says to men adulteries, and other abominable crimes, trans- who come to prostrate themselves at his feet form themselves into ministers of Jesus Christ, to avow^ their faults, 'I know your shis — it is .live without recognizing the authority of our 188 HISTORY OF THE POPES. see, and seize upon churches. Wheresoever you shall find these props of Satan, deprive them of the priesthood, and submit them to the monastic rule, that they may terminate their scandalous lives by sincere repentance. " Above all. proscribe the philosopher Virgil, that Scotch priest, who dares maintain that there exists another world, and other men upon that world ; other suns and other moons in the heavens; who affirms that to be a Christian, it is enough to follow the morality of the Bible, and to practise its precepts, without even being baptized. Let him be driven from the church, deprived of the priest- hood, and plunged in the darkest dungeons ; let him then undergo all the tortures invented by man ; for we will never find a punishment sufficiently terrible to chastise an infamous wretch, whose sacrilegious doctrine has de- stroyed the holiness of our religion. We have already requested the duke of Bavaria to de- liver up to us this apostate, to be solemnly judged and punished, in accordance with the rigor of the canons. The prince having re- fused our request, we have written to the priest a threatening letter proljibiting him from raising his abominable voice in the presence of the faithful assembled in the house of God." Virgil was indeed cruelly persecuted by the slaves of the Holy See, who called a sacrile- gious idolatry, the theory of the learned Scotch- man in relation to the earth, which he main- tained to be round, and inhabited on all its surface. Eight centuries later, the doctrine of the antipodes, taught by this philosophic priest, will fecundate the genius of Christo- pher Columbus, and add a new continent to the old world. But Rome, in its ignorance, could not be- lieve there was any other science than that of religion ; that there existed other worlds than those authorized by the canons, approved by the fathers, and preached by the apostles. Sovereigns, still more ignorant than the eccle- siastics, did not recognize other truths than those taught by the church. They submitted themselves blindly to the decisions of pon- tiffs, consulted them in their enterprises, and sometimes even abandoned their crowns to sit in the councils of the popes, the cross in their hand, their heads ornamented with a mitre, or their shoulders covered with a frock. Thus the king of the Lombards, Ratchis, preferred to the grandeur of a throne, a sim- ple cell in the monastery of Monte Cassino. Carloman, the brother of Pepin, also re- nounced the world, came on a pilgrimage to the holy city, and after having enriched the purse of St. Peter, received from the hands of the pontiff the frock of St. Benedict, and shut himself up in a monastery. This g;reat prince served in the kitchen, took care of the stables, and laboured in the garden to humble his pride and to save his soul from the flames of hell. The famous abbey of Fulda, of which Boniface has given a description in a letter addressed to the pontiff, owes to him its foun- dation. " In a vast forest in the midst of a wild locality, we have built a monastery, &■:.! have sent to it monks who live in accordance with the rule of St. Benedict, depriving them- selves of flesh, wine, and beer ; they are with- out servants, and continually occupied in ma- nual labour. This retreat has been founded by us, by the aid of pious souls, and espe- cially by the assistance of brother Carloman, formerly prince of the Franks. We ourselves propose, with your approbation, to repose oiu: old age in this holy retreat, waiting for the hour of our death." Pepin, become absolute master in France after the retreat of his brother, occupied him- self with bringing Rome into his interests. The priest Ardobanus, who was authorized so to do by the bishops, abbots, and lords of Gaul, came to consult the pope on several points of ecclesiastical discipline, which may be reduced to three principal heads : the epis- copal order, the penance of homicides, and illicit unions. The embassador at the same time informed his holiness, that Mayence had been selected as the metropolis of the king- dom. In his secret instructions, the mayor of the palace had charged Ardobanus to offer rich presents to the holy father, and to assure himself of the views of the court of Rome, as to the time in which he should usurp the crown of France. The pontiff received the embassador at a solemn audience. He replied to the letters of the prelates and the lords, by urging them all to do their duty. The secu- lars, by combating against the infidel, and the ecclesiastics by assisting them with their counsel and their prayers. He also addressed private letters to Pepin, encouraging him in his ambitious projects, and authorizing him, in the name of religion, to depose Childeric the Third immediately, and to take possession of his crown. The mayor of the palace, con- fident of the aid of the clergy, announced the forfeiture of the feeble monarch, caused his head, and that of his young son Thierry to be shaved, and shut them up — the one in the monastery of Sithian, the other in a convent in Normandy. Zachary had well foreseen that his policy guarantied to the Holy See the protection of a rising dynasty, and that in exchange for the sanction which he gave to an usurpation, the new prince would aid him to abase the Lom- bards, and to free him entirely from the rule of the emperors. In fact, the sovereigns of Constantinople were soon reduced to implore the aid of the popes, and Constantino Copro- nj-mus, who had been driven from the throne by the usurper Artabasus, could not repossess himself of his crown but through the assist- ance of the Holy See. The prince, in grati- tude, yielded to the pope several dominions of the empire. The exarch Eutychius, John metropolitan of Ravenna, and the people of the Pentapolis and of the province of Emilius, asked, in their turn, the powerful protection of Zachary to arrest the victorious arms of the Lombards. Under the pretext of being better able to appreciate the subject of their complaints, HISTORY OF THE POPES. 189 the pontiff went to Ravenna, accompanied by a numerous court. On his arrival the citizens and clergy sallied from the city to receive liim, exclaiming, "' Blessed be the shepherd, who has left his flock to come to deliver us — us who were about to perish.'' Some days afterwards Zachary sent embassadors to in- form the Lombard prince of his arrival in his estates. Luitprand sent an escort composed of the lords of his court to meet the holy fa- ther, and receive him with all the honours due to his dignity and rank. In his interview with the king, his holiness demanded the execution of the treaties, the retreat of the troops which occupied the pro- vince of Ravenna, the restitution to the Holy See of the cities which his generals had seized, and especially of that of Sienna. The mo- narch, fearing to draw upon himself the en- mity of Zachary, acceded to his requests, con- sented to restore the city of Ravenna, two- thirds of the territory of Sienna, and only kept, for the safety of his troops a single for- tified place, which he even promised to restore to the exarch after the return of his embas- sadors, who had gone to Constantinople, to treat of peace with the emperor. After having elevated the pontifical chair to the highest degree of power during a leign of eleven years, Zachary died in the month of March, in the year 752. He was interred in the church of St. Peter. The patriarchal palace of the Lateran was almost entirely rebuilt by this pontill; he in- creased its size by several immense saloons, paved with marble, enriched with paintings and mosaics. The legends relate that in dig- ging the foundation of this admirable building, the workmen found a human head, buried very deep in the earth, and in an excellent state of preservation ; that it was carried to the pope, who aflirmed that it was the head of the blessed St. George. By his orders the precious relic was deposited in a magiiilicent shrine, on which a Greek inscription was en- graved. The credulous people, the hypocriti- cal clergy, and the lords of Rome, then bore it in procession to the deaconry of St. George, of the Veil of Gold, where it has since per- formed numerous miracles. STEPHEN THE SECOND, NINETY-FOURTH POPE. [A. D. 752. — CoNSTANTiNE CoPRONYMUs, Emperor of the East.] Election of the pontiff — He dies after a reign of three days, and without having been consecrated. Aftkr the death of pope Zachary, the Ro- mans chose, to occupy the Holy See, a priest named Stephen, who took immediate posses- sion of the patriarchal palace of the Lateran. On the third day, on awakening, at the mo- ment when he was rising from his bed to give some orders, he suddenly lo,st his voice and recollection, and fell dead at the feet of his deacons. Some historians refuse to count Stephen the Second in the number of the pontiffs, because he had never been consecrated ; but Onu- phrus, Bauvini, the cardinal Baronius, and fa- ther Petau, have pursued a different mode of thinking — that consecration adds nothing to the dignity of a priest canonically elected, and that he is really pope after his nomination has been made by the people, the clergy, and the lords. We conform to their tlecision. Such was in fact the doctrine and usage of the church in the first ages. The right of choosing the ministers of religion appeared so important, that subdeacons, deacons, priest.s, and bishops were all named, without excep- tion, by the assembly of the faithful. St. Cy- prian even augments the latitude of this power. " Not onlv," says he, •' have the faith- ful the divine riglit of choosing the ministers of the church; but they can even regularly depose those who shall show themselves to be unworthy of the ministry, after having been consecrated. They are even obliged in conscience so to do; for those who would to- lerate an ecclesiastical prevaricator would render themselves guilty towards God."' Pope St. Leo himself maintains that election alone confers the dignity of bishop. He adds that the faithful of the same city should all concur in the nomination of their pastor. He formally recognizes the right of election as being in all Christians, and lanches anathemas ag-ainst those who should essay to take this privilege from the people to arrogate to themselves the nomination to the different dignities of the church. From these considerations it evidently fol- lows, that the consecration of bishops was npt then regurded as indispensable to their pos- sessing the episcopal dignity, and that it was sufficient that they should nave obtained the suffrages of the Christians of a diocese to be canonically its pastor. Thus Stephen the Se- cond, notwithstanding the brevity of his ap- parition on the throne of St. Peter, although he had not been ortiained prelate was none the less really pope, and as such he should occupy his rank in the chronological series of the successors of the apostles. 190 HISTORY OF THE POPES. STEPHEN THE THIRD, NINETY-FIFTH POPE. [A. D. 752. — CoNSTANTiNE CoPRONYMUs, EiTiperor of the East.] Election of Stephen the Third — His birth and education — He sends legates to prince Astolphus — The king of the Lombards seizes Ravenna — He makes war on the Romans — Embassy from the king of the Lombards to Constantinople — Council of the image breakers — Decisions against the images — The Romans are reduced to the last eztremity — htephcn asks for aid from the Ercnch— Pepin protects the pope — Litrigves and machinations of the pope — He falls sick — His u'onderful cure — He consecrates the temple — Pepin and his tiro sons — War of Italy — Peace with the Lombards — Astolphus recommences the tear — The pope again asks aid from Pepin — Knavery of the pontiff — He addresses to the French monarch letters written by St. Peter, the Virgin, and the saints — Pepin, the dupe of this chicanery, re-enters Italy at the head of an army — The pope is placed in possession of the exarchate of Ravenna — Origin of the temporcd poicer of the popes — Didier, king of the Lombards — Death of Stephen the Third. After the death of Stephen the Second, the people, the grandees, and the clergy as- sembled m the church of St. Mary-Majora, and proclaimed a pontifi', who was enthroned under the name of Stephen the Third. He was a Roman by birth, and an orphan from his earliest infancy. The popes, his prede- cessors, took care of his infancy, and had brought him up in the palace of the Lateran ) there he had passed through all the ecclesias- tical orders to the deaconate. In his different employments, Stephen had steadily used his influence to solace the suf- ferings of the poor, on which account the Ro- mans had so great a veneration for him, that on the day of his election, some of the people raised him on their shoulders and bore him in triumph to the church of St. Peter. Some authors relate, that this ceremony was autho- rized by an ancient custom ; but Polydorus Virgilius afhrras that it was the first example of an enthronization so contrary to apostolical humility, and blames Stephen for having sub- mitted to it. Stephen was also the first pontiff who sealed his letters with lead instead of wax, which the bishops of Rome had before used for that purpose. Three months after his enthronement, the holy father sent legates to the king of the Lombards, to offer him rich presents in ex- change for a treatj'of peace between his peo- ple and the Holy See. Astolphus at first took the presents, and swore to a treaty of four years. Perceiving afterwards that the small number of Greek troops who defended Italy, presented to him a favourable opportunity to snatch the exarchate from the empire, he broke the peace and marched upon Ravenna. Eutychius, who commanded for the emperor, defended himself with courage for some months, when, overwhelmed by the number of the enemy, he abandoned his capital, and took refuge at Constantinople. Ravenna fell before the arms of the Lombards, and its ruin caused the destruction of the exarchs, who had reigned for about one hundred and eighty years in the capacity of imperial vicars. Astolphus, elated by his first success, re- solved to seize upon all Italy ; and under the pretext that the possession of Ravenna gave to him as a consequence the use of the rights granted by the empire to this government, he claimed the sovereignty of Rome, and threat- ened to undertake a siege of it, to reduce it under his authority. The pope immediately sent the abbots of St. Vincent, of Vultorna, and St. Benedict of Monte Cassino, to demand the execution of the treaties, and the preser- vation of the peace. But Astolphus, full of contempt for these ambassadors in frocks, was unwilling to even listen to their propositions. He ordered them to re-enter their monasteries, prohibiting them even from returning to Rome to render an account of their embassy. Still the war was for a time suspended by the conversion of Anselmus, the brother-in- law of Astolphus, who embraced a religious life, and obtained from the king, for himself and his monks, the territory of Nonantula, two leagues from Modena. An abbey and a church were built by the care of the prince, in honour of the apostles. Sergius, metropolitan of Ra- venna, dedicated it in an imposing ceremony, and Astolphus confirmed the foundation, which he had before made, in which he only obliges the monks to furnish him wdth forty pikes at Lent, and an equal number at Advent. He then accompanied his brother-in-law to Rome, and offered this donation to the clergy, by placing; according to usage, the deed upon the confessional of St. Peter. Princes already knew the subtle distinction of the Holy See between Cassarand the church, since at the very time in which the monarch was preparing to carry on a terrible war against Stephen the Third, he showed, as a Christian, his absolute submission to the prince of the apostles, and assisted at a council convoked by the pope, to clothe Anselm in the monastic habit, and to give him the pastoral baton. Some days after this ceremony, John, the silentiary of the emperor, arrived at the holy city, bearing letters for the pontiff' and the king of the Lombards. Constantino urged the prince to restore to him the places he had un- justly snatched from the empire, in contempt of treaties, and demanded the terms on wliich he proposed to put an end to a war Avhich would be destructive to the two people. Astolphus, desirous of gaining time to pur- sue his conquests, and consolidate his rule in Italy, refused to give a decisive reply to the silentiary. He named an embassador to reluru HISTORY OF TPIE POPES. 191 ■with John to the court of Constantinople to treat of peace with tlie emperor himself. Stephen also sent several deputies to the emperor, under the pretence of carrying let- ters to him, but in reality to induce him to descend into Italy with an army to deliver Rome from the Lombards. Coiistantine, oc- cupied in the East with his war against the Arabs, and separated, besides, in his opinions from the holy father, on the subject of image worship, treated with contempt the entreaties addressed to him, abandoned Rome to king Astolphus, and convoked a general council in his city of Constantinople, to condemn the adoration of images. Three hundred and thirty-eight bishops as- sistetl at this assembly. After a sufficiently long preamble, the fathers made the following declaration: '-'Jesus Christ delivered men from idolatry, and taught them to worship in spirit and in truth; but the devil, jealous of j the power of the church, novv seeks to restore the worship of idols, under the appearance of | Christianity, by persuading the faithful that they should prostrate themselves before crea- tures. Thus, to combat the prince of dark- ness, we order the priests to cast out from the temples all the images which delile them, and to destroy those which are exposed for adora- i tion in churches or private houses, under penal- ty, for bishops, priests, and deacons, of deposi- tion ; for monks and laymen of anathema; and without prejudice to the corporal punishment inflicted on the guilty by the imperial laws." When the synod rose. Constantino went in great pomp to the public square, and pub- lished the decrees of the council of bishops. The iconoclastic priests hurried immediately into the churches, and under pretence of de- stroying the images and overthrowing idola- trous ornaments, seized upon crosses enriched with precious stones, the sacred vases, rich vestments, precious veils, and the services of golil or silver destined for divine service. The kingof theLombanls finding the empe- ror too much occupied with his religions quar- rels to dream of arresting him in his plans of con([nest, entered upon the territory of Rome, and notwithstanding the supplications of the pope, he summoned the inhabitants to recog- nize him as their sovereign if they did not wish to be put to the sword. Stephen the Third having none but undis- ciplined troops to oppose to the Lombards, shut himself up in the city, exhorting the people to implore the mercy of God. He caused the relics of the apostles to be carried in procession, he himself \\ alking with naked feet, and his head covered with ashes, carry- ing upon his shoulilers an image of Jesus Christ, which the priests said had been sent by God to the Holy See. A bishop led the way, waving in the air a great cross of gold, to one side of which was attached the treaty of peace made with the king of the Lom- bards, and to the other the bull of excommu- nication of this sacrilegious prince. Not withstand! n;; the conlidence which the pontUr exhibited in heaven, he counted more on terrestrial arms to ari est the troops of As- tolphus. Despairing of aid from the emperor, he resolved to address himself to king Pepin, to inform him of the desolation of the church. He wrote at the same time to all the dukes of France, beseeching them to come to the res- cue of St. Peter, whom he called their pro- tector, promising them, in the name of the apostle, the remission of all the sins they had committed or might commit in future, and guaranteeing to them unalterable happiness in this world, and eternal life in the next. Droctegand. the first abbot of Gorza. chief of the embassy, had scarcely quitted Italy, when the sileutiary John returned from Con- stantinople with the legates. Constantino or- dered the holy father to go to the court of Astolphus, to obtain the restoration of Ravenna and of the cities which were dependencies on the exarchate. The pope was convinced in advance of the inutility of this negotiation. He however consented to undertake it, with the view of approaching France, and going himself to solicit the aid of Pepin. He im- mediately sent embassadors to the court of Pavia, to demand a safe conduct, which the Lombard king hastened to grant him. gua- ranteeing, besides, that he should receive all the honours due to his rank. Stephen left Rome, on the 14th of October. 754, accompanied by the French embassa- dors, who had returned with Droctegand in the interval of the negotiation. On his arrival in the territory of Pavia, Astolphus forewarned him that it was useless to come before him, if he wished to obtain from him the restora- tion of the exarchate of Raveima, and of the other places of the empire which he or his j predecessors hatl acquired. The pontiff re- plied that no fear should prevent him from accomplishing the mission with which his prince had charged him, and he pursued his I way towards the capital of the Lombards. The next day, the day fixed for the con- ference, Stephen was admitted to the pre- I sence of the king. He prostrated himself at I his feet, and offered him rich presents, be- seeching him, in the name of Constantine, to 1 restore the provinces which he had seized. I Astolphus persisted in his first refusal, and the silentiary John, notwithstanding his pro- mises and his threats, could not weaken the ! resolution of the Lombard chief. The French embassadors then announced to him, in the name of the king, their master, that they had orders to conduct the pope into Gaul. The king immediately perceived the perfidious in- tentions of Stephen, but he dared not arrest him, and was constrained to submit to the I will of the envoys of the court of France. I After passing the Alps, the pontiff" arrived at the monastery of St. Maurice, in the Valoi.s, where the French lords were in waiting to conduct him to Ponthion, a strons; castle, situ- ateil near to Langres. and which was one of the royal residences. Charles, the oldest son of Pepin, had gone more than fifty leagues to meet the holy father. The kiwj;, the (jueen, and the young princes received him more than 192 HISTORY OF THE POPES. a league from Ponthion. Anastasius relates that the French monarch had the weakness to walk on foot, with his head uncovered, for two hours, holding the bridle of Stephen's horse ! On the following day, the pope and his clergy paid their respects to the king, and besought God to preserve him to his people. On the ne.vt day they offered to him rich presents, and also to the lords of his court; but, on the third day, the songs of gladness gave way to lamentations ; Stephen appeared with all his clergy, their heads covered with ashes and clothed in sackcloth. All pros- trated themselves at the feet of the monarch, beseeching him with lamentable cries, by the mercy of God and the merits of the holy St. Peter and St. Paul, to deliver them from the dominion of the Lombards. The holy father remained prostrate with his face to the earth, until Pepin had extended to him his hand, pledging that the king would raise him from the earth as a sign of the deliverance which he promised him. In fact, the trick of the pontiff was entirely successful. The emperor consented to send embassadors to prince Astolphus, to beseech him, in the name of the apostles, not to ex- ercise hostilities against Rome. But this em- bassy not having achieved any result, Pepin allowed himself to be drawn by his self-con- ceit into a terrible war, in which his best sol- diers were about to perish to sustain the am- bition of an hypocritical priest. The prince convoked, in the city of Carisiac or Quiercy, the lords of his kingdom, and in their pre- sence he decided they should carry war into Italy, to deliver the holy church; and he even made in advance a donation to St. Peter of several cities and territories, which were still under the rule of the Lombards. The deed was solemnly delivered, and Pepin signed it, in his own name and that of his two sons, Charles and Carloman. Astolphus, having been apprised of the pre- parations for war which the Franks were mak- ing against him, hastened to send to their court the monk Carloman, the brother of Pepin, to destroy by his influence the machinations of Stephen, and to turn aside the lords of Gaul from their enterprise against Italy. jMazeray affirms, that the monk pleaded the cause of the Lombards with so much eloquence to the parliament of Quiercy, that it determined to send envoys to Pavia to propose a treaty of peace between the pope and the king. The ambassadors were received with great honours by Astolphus; he consented not to lay claim to the sovereignty of Rome, but re- fused to restore to the emperor the exarchate of Ravenna, maintaining that this matter con- cerned neither the pope nor the French mo- narch, and that Constantine must reconquer, by arms, the provinces which the unskilful- ness of his generals had lost to the empire. Stephen the Third then maintained, that Ravenna and its dependencies did not belong to him who had conquered them, but that they had escheated, of divine right, to the Holy See, as being the spoils of an heretical prince. Carloman was desirous of representing to the holy father how unjust were his pretensions, and what scandal he would give to the faithful by laying claim to the spoils of one condemned. Stephen, then, to disembarrass himself of an adversary so clear-sighled, un- dertook to make him suspected by the jea- lous Pepin. He accused Carloman of nourish- ing ambitious thoughts ; and he determined the monarch to shut him up in the monastery of Vienne, and to shave his young nephews. Master of the ground, he easily obtained from the prince a promise to employ the French armies in conquering for him the exarchate of Ravenna ; and the assembly at Quiercy, having terminated its deliberations. Stephen came to St. Denis to wait the time of his de- parture. During his sojourn in France, the pontiff fell sick from the fatigiie of the journey, or the severity of the season, and in a few days his illness became so great that his household despaired of his life. But the Holy See was not thus to lose a chief who understood its interests so well. The chronicles also relate his miraculous cure. - The pope, almost dead, was carried into the church of St. Denis to address his last prayers to God. As soon as he was in prayer the apostles Peter and Paul, and the blessed St. Denis, appeared to him before the altar. Denis, hekl a censer in his right hand and a crown of martyrdom in his left ; he was accompanied by a priest and dea- con. He advanced towards Stephen, and said to him, 'Peace be with you, my brother; do not fear; you will return happily to your church ; rise up, and consecrate this altar to God and the holy apostles Peter and Paul.' The vision disappeared, and the pontiff rising up full of strength, celebrated mass. The king, the queen, the lords, the clergy, the monks and the people were astonished at this miracle. The next day the pontiff dedi- cated, with imposing ceremonies, the oratory of St. Denis, in honour of Jesus Christ and the apostles, and deposited on the altar his pallium, which has since been preserved as a relic in the abbey. Stephen then consecrated, in a solemn fes- tival, Pepin, his two sons Charles and Carlo- man, and his wife Bertrade. After having laid his hands upon them, he declared, in the name of God, that the Franks and their de- scendants were prohibited, under penalty of anathema and of eternal damnation, from choosing kings of another race. The holy father created the two princes patricians of Rome, to pledge them to defend the holy city. Le Cointe assures us, that the baptism of Charles and Carloman had been deferred until this period, that the pope might be their god- father ; in fact, in several of his letters Stephen calls them his spiritual sons. The war of Italy having been resolved upon in the parliament, the king of the Franks made immense preparations in order to in.sure thp success of his arms. He passed the Alps a. the head of numerous troops, and constrained Astolphus to give entire satisfaction to the HISTORY OF THE POPES. 193 pontiff. The treaty was concluded in the pre- sence of the embassadors of Constantine, who had come to claim the exarcliate for their master. Their reclamations were useless, and Ravenna was adjudged to the Holy See. The peace having been signed, Pepin retired with his army, carrying with him hostages from the Lombards. Stephen re-entered Rome in triumph, accompanied by prince Jerome, bro- ther of the king of the Franks. But Astolphus w^as scarcely freed from the hostile army, when he broke the treaties which had been forced from him, seized anew upon the exarchate, and marched on Rome. The pope immediately wrote to the French monarch, " I conjure you by the Lord our God. and his glorious mother — by the ce- lestial virtues and the holy apostle, who has consecrated you king, to render to our see the donation which j'ou have oflered it. Have no confidence in the deceitful words of the Lom- bards, and of the grandees of that nation. The interests of the church are actiially placed in your hands, and you will render an account to God and St. Peter in the terrible day of judgment, of the manner in which you shall have defended them. '• It is for you that God has reserved this great work for so many ages ! Your fathers did not receive the honour of such a grace, and Jesus Christ, by his prescience, has cho- sen you from all eternity to cause his church to triumph; for those whom he has predesti- nated he has called, and those whom he has called he has justified !'' Astolphus was already under the walls of Rome, of which he pressed the siege with vigour. The pope fearing to fall into his power before the arrival of his succours, sent by sea new embassadors to inform the king of the Franks of the extremity to which he was re- duced. The bishop George, count Fonnaric, and the abbot Vermir, an intrepid soldier, who, during the siege donned his curiass and fought upon the walls, were the legates of the Holy See. They presented themselves before the assembly of Frank lords, and spoke to them in these terms : '•' Illustrious lords, we are overwhelmed with bitter sadness, and pressed down by an extreme agony. Our misfortunes have caused us to shed such abundant tears, that it seems as if they alone would recount our griefs. The Lombard, in his demoniac lury, dares to command the holy city to open its gates. He threatens, if we refuse to obey his orders, to overthrow our walls, stone by stone, and to put us all, men and women, to the sword. '■ Already have his barbarous soldiers burn- ed our churches, broken the images of the saints, torn from the sanctuaries pious offer- ings, and snatched from the altar the sacretl veils and vases. Already have they beaten with blows holy monks, become intoxicated in the sacred chalices, and violated our young nuns. "The domains of St. Peter have become the prey of the flames ; his cattle driven off, kis vines grubbed up by the roots, his crop Vol. I. Z trampled under foot by horses, slaves mur- dered, and even infants put to death upon the bosoms of their mothers."' Not only had the holy father ordered his embassadors to make these false recitals to move the compassion of the Franks, but — ex- cess of daring and rascality — he invented an unknown artifice, and which no other pope had dared to use. He addressed to Pepin se- veral letters written, he said, by the Virgin, angels, martyrs, saints, and apostles, and which were sent from heaven to the Franks. That of the chief of the apostles commenced thus : " I, Peter, called to the apostleship by Jesus Christ, the sou of the living God, be- seech you, Pepin, Charles, Carloman, and you, lord.s, clerical and lay of the kingdom of France, not to permit my city of Rome and my people to be longer rent by the Lombards, if you wish to shun the tearing of your bo- dies and souls in eternal fire, by the forks of Satan. " I command you to prevent the residue of the flock which the Lord has confided to me, from being dispersed, if you do not wish he should reject and disperse you as he did the children of Israel. •'Do not abandon yourselves to a criminal indifference, and obey me promptly. Thus you will surmount all your enemies in this world ; you shall live many years, eating the good things of the earth, and after your death you shall obtain eternal life. Otherwise, know that by the authority of the Holy Trinity — in the name of ray apostleship, you shall be de- prived for ever of the kingdom of God."' This letter of St. Peter produced a great sensation on the rude minds of the French. The chiefs immediately assembled their troops, passed the Alps, and advanced into Lonibardy. to succour the Holy See. Astolphus was constrained to yield again to the power of the arms of Pepin, and he restored the ex- archate to the pope. Fulrad, the coun.sellor of the king of the Franks, went into the Pentapolis and Emilia, with the proxies of the Lombard sovereign, to cause them to recognize the authority of the Holy See. Raveiuia, Rimini, and twenty- one other cities gave their keys to the abbot Fulrad, who deposited them, with the deed of gift from king Pepin, upon the confessional of St. Peter. Such was the origin of the tem- poral power of the Roman church. The Franks then retired from Italj-. Astol- phus did not survive the disgrace of this treaty; he died in consequence of a fall from a horse in the beginning of the year 756. Didier, duke of Istria. then conceived the project of causing himself to be proclaimed king of the Lombards ; but Ratchis. v. ho had reigned over this nation before he became a monk in the convent of Monte Cassino, tired of a religious life, left the monastery, and laid claim to the heritage of Astolphus. As he well knew the avidity of the court of Rome, his first thought was to bring the pope info his interest, and he promised him not only not to trouble him in the possession of Ravenna, 194 HISTORY OF THE POPES, but to enrich St. Peter with several large do- mains. His proposals had been already accepted by the pontiff, when the commissioner of Pepin ordered Stephen to cause Ratchi to return to Monte Cassino and to proclaim Didier king of the Romans. The holy father obliged to change sides, nevertheless caused the duke to buy his protection, and constrained him to yield to the Roman church the city of Faenza and its dependencies, and the duchy of Fer- rara and two other important places. The domains of the Holy See were thus augmented by almost all the provinces which the empire possessed in Italy. Stephen then learned that Constantine Co- pronymus had sent a solemn embassy from Constantinople to the court of France, to make proposals for the marriage of his daughter Gisella with the oldest son of the Greek em- peror. As it was important to the policy of the sovereign pontiff that these princes should have no relations between them, he despatch- ed in his turn an extraordinary ambassador to the court of the French king, to turn him aside from an alliance with the family of Constan- tine, under the pretence, that this monarch was separated from the Roman communion, and was tainted with heresy. The envoy of his holiness acquired such an ascendancy over the mind of Pepin, that he finally declined the proposals of the Greeks; and the Greek en- voys, in reply to their request, to know what were the motives which induced him to re- ject an alliance so advantageous to the two nations, could draw from him no other reply than " that he was unwilling to expose him- self to eternal damnation, by authorizing the marriage of his beloved daughter with av heretic !" The ambassadors, indignant at see • ing so much weakness in a prince who com- manded so valiant a nation, took their leave and went to report to Constantine his ridicu- lous reply. The astute pontiff triumphed over the Greek emperor, but God did not permit him to gather the fruits of his skill. Two months after the departure of the envoys of Constantine, he died in the palace of the Lateran on the 26th of April, 757. We can exclaim with the prophet, "Vanity, vanity of human affairs !" This pontiff, who had abused religion to increase his authority ; who had employed a sacrilegious knavery, and made use of the sacred names of Christ, the virgin and the saints, for his contemptible in- terests, lost, with his life, his grandeur, his riches, his palaces and his provinces ! PAUL THE FIRST, THE NINETY-SIXTH POPE. [A. D. 757.] 'Election of Paid — The archbishop of Ravenna refuses to submit to the law of celibacy — Zeal of Pope Paul for relics — His liberality to monks and churches — Submission of Paul to the orders of Pepin — His death — His benevolence to the unfortunate. During the last days of the illness of Stephen, Rome was divided into two factions for the •election of a pontiff. The most numerous party wished to nominate Paul, the brother of Stephen. the Third, the other was in favour of the Archdeacon Theophylactus. — Paul, more of a philosopher than a priest, refused to min- gle in the intrigues of his party, disdained to strengthen his party by simoniacal bribes, and cC^arlemui^iu'. I c-f. zr ^ % 202 HISTORY OF THE POPES. as duke of the province, one of the embassa- dors named Hildebrand. During the siege of Pavia, Charlemagne made a purney to Rome to assist at the cele- bration of Easter and to confer with the pope. Adrian, forewarned of his arrival, received him with great honours. The magistrates of the city, the companies of the militia, the clergy, clothed in their ecclesiastical ornaments, and the children of the schools bearing branches of rose and olive trees, advanced singing hymns before the French monarch. As soon as he perceived the crosses and banner.s, Charlemagne dismounted from his horse, with the lords who formed his nume- rous retinue, and all advanced on foot to the church of St. Peter. There the proud pontiff, surrounded by the priests and deacons, waited for the monarch on the sill of the temple. The latter bent low, and kissed even the steps of the church ; he then embraced the pontilT, and having taken him by the hand, together they entered the church and prostrated them- selves before the tomb of the apostle. The conference commenced after the prayers. The t\ro allies swore inviolabla friendship and peace, and in the presence of an immense assembly, they confirmed their treaty by solemn oaths. Charlemagne renewed the donation which had been made to Stephen the Third by him- self, his brother Carloman, and Pepin their father. His chaplain and notary prepared a copy of it, which he signed with his own hand ; the bishops and the lords also subscribed it ; it was then deposited on the altar of St. Peter, and all swore to maintain it. By this deed the pontiffs became the possessors of the Isle of Corso, the cities of Barti, Reggio and Man- tua, the exarchate of Ravenna, the provinces of Venice and Istria, and the dutchies of Spo- letto and Beneventum. Before the departure of the king, Adrian presented to him the code of the canons of the Roman church and of the decretals. Upon the first pages of the book, the holy father had written acrostic verses in honour of the prince, and prayers that he should be victorious over the Lombards. Charlemagne then returned to his camp and pushed with vigour the seige of Pavia, which soon fell into his power. Di- dier was made a prisoner, shorn and sent into France, where he was confined in the monas- tery of Corbie. ''Then," says Mazeray, "the French mo- narch made a second journey to Rome, and the pope, followed by one hundred and fifty bishops, whom he had called around him to ren- der the ceremony more imposing, advanced to the front of the palace of the Lateran, and in the presence of an immense crowd, bestowed upon the prince the title of patrician, the first dignity of the empire. He conferred upon him the right of investing bishops within his states, and even of nominating popes, in order to put an end to the cabals and disorders of the elec- tions." Italian authors affirm that Charle- magne renounced this prerogative in favour of the Roman people, reserving to himself only the right of confirming the nominations, as the Greek emperors had done. During his stay at Rome, the king manifest- ed great devotion for the apostle St. Peter. He visited the monasteries, cemeteries of the martyrs, and churches of the city. The peo- ple pressed in crowds upon his steps, and the priests made the sacred vaults resound with solemn acts of thanks to God in honour of the conqueror of the Lombards. Charlemagne, recalled to his country to re- commence his bloody strife, in Spain against the Saracens, and in Germany against the Sax- ons, quitted Italy. In traversing the dutchy of Beneventum, he visited the convent of St. Vin- cent, which he found divided into two factions, in consequence of the election of an abbot. The two competitors, Ambrose Autpert and Poton, both chosen by the monks, disputed for the government of the monastery, and caused great scandal through the country. Finally, exhausted by the contest, they agreed to refer it to the judgment of the monarch. Charlemagne declared in favour of Ambrose, whose election appeared to him more regular than that of his adversary. Still, this monk was charged with such atrocious accusations, that not wishing to fully decide in so obscure a case, the king wrote to the pope, and in- duced the abbot to go immediately to the court of Rome. Autpert followed the advice of Charlemagne, and started for the holy city; but three days after his departure he was assassinated in a tavern. Poton was suspected of having sent murderers in pursuit, but the crime not having been clearly proved, he continued to govern the abbey. The pontiff, being informed of the circumstances, ordered him to cease all his sacerdotal functions and come to Rome, accompanied by the principal monks of his convent. The abbot obeyed, and appeared before an extraordinary council composed of the metropolitan of Tarantaise, four abbots and the great officers of the city. Several monks of the convent accused him of having resorted to violence, to prevent them from carrying complaints to Charlemagne against the cruelties and abominations of which he was guilty. As they did not furnish proofs in support of their accusations, the council decided that they could not condemn Poton, if he justified himself by oath, and made his innocence manifest by the testimony of ten of the principal monks, Franks, and Lombards. The abbot and his partizans immediately took the oath required, and Poton returned to his convent, of which he was recognized as the legitimate superior. During the following year, (781,) Charle- magne, having finished his war with the Sara- cens and Saxons, crossed the Alps anew and returned to Rome to render thanks to God, and to have his youngest son, Carloman, crowned king of Italy. The young prince was bap- tized in the church of St. Peter; the pontiff held him at the baptismal font, gave him the name of Pepin, and consecrated him king of Italy in the presence of the bishops, the «.* HISTORY OF THE POPES, 203 priests, the Roman people, and the Frank lords. Charlemagne, in his different journeys to Rome, had learned the horrid depravity of the Italian clergy, and had complained of it to the pontitT; that he might put a rein upon their dissoluteness. The prince branded the Ro- man priests with the most odious epithets. He accused them of dealing in slaves, of sell- ing young girls to the Saracens, of keeping publicly brothels and gambling houses, and of scandalizing Christianity by those infamies, which had in former days drawn down the vengeance of God on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Adiian treated as calumniators and enemies of religion, those who had made reports to Charlemagne so unfavourable to the eccles- iastics of Italy. He cast the imputation of the traffic in slaves upon the Greeks, who pirated on the coasts of Lombardy, and car- ried off young girls to sell them to the Arabs. He affirmed that in order to punish these free- booters, he had burned many of their vessels in ihe port of Centumgella. The fact of the burning of the ships was truej but the holy father had performed this act of vengeance against the Greeks, because they had united with the Neapolitans to ravage the patrimony and lands of St. Peter, and not for the pur- pose of putting an end to their piracies. The King was satisfied with the explanation of Adrian, and returned to his kingdom to re- assemble his numerous armies and march to new conquests. While the pontiff was strengthening his rule in Italy, the ecclesiastical affairs of the East assumed a grave character, which required all the attention of Adrian. Taraisus, a creature of the Holy See, was ordained patriarch of Constantinople. Before accepting this dignity, he had exacted from the empress Irene and her son Constantine, a solemn oath that they would assemble a council to judge the heresy of the image- breakers. This measure, which, according to Cardinal Baronius, had been concerted be- tween Adrian and Taraisus. would result, not in an equitable judgment, but in the certain con- demnation and extermination of the heretics. Irene, ignorant of this machination, wrote to the bishop of Rome to advise him, in the name of the emperor, of the determination she had come to, to assemble a general coun- cil to decide upon the question of the worship of images. "We beseech you, holy father," wrote Irene, "to come to this important assem- bly, to confirm by your testimony the ancient tradition of the Latin church in regard to pic- tures. We promise to receive you with all the honours and regard due to your dignity. If, however, the interests of your See render your presence indispensable at Rome, send us embassadors commendable for their talent and prudence." Taraisus, on his part, addressed letters of convocation to the bishops and priests of An- tioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem. He made a profession of his faith m relation to the Trinity, the incarnation, and the invocation of saints; he condemned the heretics, approved of the six general councils, and the anathema against the destroyers of images. He con- cluded by a formal injunction to all the bishops to come to Constantinople, or send their le- gates to consult with him on a reunion of the churches. Adrian replied to the emperor in these terms, "Prince, your great grandfather, led away by the baneful advice of impious men, carried off the images from the churches of his dominions to the great scandal of the faithful. To arrest the evil, the two popes Gregory, our illustrious predecessors, wrote him several letters, in the affliction of their souls, beseeching him to re-establish the sacred worship which he called idolatry ] but he did not comply with their entreaties. " Since that period their successors, Zachary, Stephen the Third, Paul, and Stephen the Fourth, have vainly addressed the same en- treaty to your grandfather and father; finally, in our turn, we beseech you, in all humility, to cause the worship of images to be observed in Greece, according to the tradition of the church. We prostrate ourselves before you, and beseech you before God to re-establish the altars of the saints at Constantinople and in all the other cities of your empire. And if it is necessary to assemble a council to ac- complish this reform and to condemn the Ico- noclastic heresy, we will consent to it, but on condition that the false synod which declared our worship idolatry, shall be anathematized iir the presence of our legates. We will send to you a declaration with an oath, in the name of the empress your mother, and m the name of the patriarch Taraisus, and of the senate, to grant to us entire freedom of discussion, to render to our legates all the honours you would render to our own person, and to defray all their expenses. "We beseech you also to restore to us the patrimonies of St. Peter, which were given us by the emperors your ancestors for lighting the church, the support of the poor and the maintenance of our priests and monks. We reclaim also from your piety the right to con- secrate the metropolitans and bishops, who are within our jurisdiction, a right which your predecessors usurped in contempt of ancient traditions. " We have been surprised to learn that the title of universal is given to the patriarch of Constantinople; for the See of )-our capital could not hold even the second rank in the church without our consent, and when you call him ODCumenical, you pronounce a sacri- lege. " V'our patriarch Taraisus has sent to us his profession of faith, which is very acceptable to us, and although he has sprung from the ranks of the laity to be immediately elevated to the episcopal dignity, we approve of his election, and consent, in his case, to violate the canons of the church, because we hope he will faith- fully concur with us in the re-establishment of the worship of images." 204 HISTORY OF THE POPES. Adrian then exalts the virtues and glory of the king of France ; he repeats to the prince, that Charlemagne, submissive to the orders of the Roman church, constantly makes solemn donations in castles, patrimonies, cities and provinces, which he takes from the Lombards, and which appertain, he said, to the Holy See by divine right. He adds that the French monarch has subjugated by his arms all the barbarous nations of the West, and that he constantly sends chariots laden with gold for the lighting of St. Peter's, and the support of the clergy and numerous convents of Rome. Constantine and the empress Irene, his mother, acceded to all the wishes of the pope ; the council was definitely convoked, and the bishops of the East, as well as the legates of the pontiff, went to Constantinople, where the council commenced its sessions. The image-breakers, who had divined the secret intentions of their adversaries for their entire destruction, embittered the people against the embassadors of the Holy See, and compelled them to quit the city. The patri- arch, the Eastern prelates, and the great dig- nitaries of the empire, then chose the city of Nice as the place for the continuation of their synod, and re-commenced their session in the church of St. Sophia. The council was composed of three hun- dred and seventy-seven bishops, twenty ab- bots, a large number of monks, the envoys of the pontiff, and the commissioners of the em- peror. The question of the images was first examined into, and after seven consecutive sittings, Theodore, the head of the clergy of Taurania, in Sicily, instructed by the fathers to resume the debate in the assembly, spoke in these words, " In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ! My brethren, after having employed the silence of the night in thinking over the questions which have been submitted to us, and which have agitated this distinguished assembly, I come to bring to you the fruit of my labour and my studies. "Your wisdom has decided that holy im- ages, be they painted, or be they of stone, wood, gold or silver, or any other convenient material, shall be exposed to the veneration of the faithful, in the churches, upon vases, on the sacred ornaments and vestments, upon the walls and ceilings, in private houses, and even upon the highway, to wit : the re- presentations of our Lord Jesus Christ, of his holy mother, of angels, and of all the saints; for the more they contemplate these images, the more is a credulous people excited to love religion and its ministers. " The true worship, which belongs only to the divine nature, shall not be rendered to them, but only salutation and adoration of honour; they shall be approached with in- cense and lights, according to the rites ob- served with regard to the cross, the evange- lists, and other sacred things. Such is the doctrine of the fathers, and the tradition of the Catholic church. Christians who shall dare to teach any other belief shall be regarded as heretics, and we ordain that they shall be deposed if they are ecclesiastics, and excom- municated if tifieyare laymen." After this decision of the council, Constan- tine and the empress, his mother, re-esta- blished the images in all the Greek churches, and even in their palaces. The legates of the pope returned to Rome and reported the pro- ceedings of the synod, which were translated into Latin, and deposited in the archives of the palace of the Lateran. This version was so obscure and unintelligible, that no clerk of the apostolic court could either read it or copy it, and when, in the succeeding century, An- astasius, the librarian, had need to consult the proceedings of the synod for his historical la- bours, he was obliged to make a new trans- lation from the original Greek. Charlemagne returned into Italy, at the so- licitation of the pontiff, to wage war on the duke of Beneventum, who had dared to prohibit his subjects from increasing the revenues of St. Peter. The unfortunate duke was de- spoiled of his best cities. Sora, Arces, Aquino, Theano, and Capua, conquered by the Franks, were added to the domains of the pope. Tassillon, duke of Bavaria, who had incur- red the indignation of the king of the Franks, sent a bishop and an abbot to Rome, to be- seech the pope to intercede with the prince to obtain from his clemency a treaty of peace. Notwithstanding the justice of his resentment against the duke, Charlemagne listened favour- ably to the proposals of Adrian, and consented to receive his embassadors. The pope at once demanded the price of his intervention, but the envoys of the prince declaring that they were not authorized to pay immediately to the pontiff the sum promised by their sovereign, Adrian, deceived in his avaricious hopes, at once lanched a terrible excommunication against the duke of Bavaria, and all his sub- jects. He declared that the Franks were ab- solved in advance from all crimes they might commit in the enemy's country; and that God commanded them, through his vicar, to violate girls, murder women, children, and old men, to burn cities, and put all the inhabitants to the sword. Adrian sent this bull of anathema to the king of the Franks, who had returned to his kingdom. At the same period arrived other deputies, bringing to him the proceedings of the council of Nice, which he caused to be examined by the bishops of the West, who had not been convoked to this universal as- sembly. The prelates of the Gauls found the proceedings of the Greek clergy contrary to the ritual of the Gallic Church, which per- mitted images to be placed in, the churches for ornament, and not for sacrilegious worship. They then composed, in the name of the king, a writing divided into four books, with a long preface, in which they thus explain them- selves: "Some Christian bishops, assembled in council in Bithynia, have dared to reject as profane, the holy images which our fathers have placed in the churches to adorn their consecrated enclosures, and to recall to the people the leading events of Christian history. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 205 This sacrilegious assembly thus attributed to iraa»es that which the Lord has said of idols, and rendered thanks to Coustantine lor hav- ing broken them, in order to guard men from idolatry. " Since that period, a new council, held in the city of Nice, has fallen into an opposite error ; not only has it anathematized the first synod, by declaring it to be impious, but even pretends to constrain the faithful to prostrate themselves before the images and render them an idolatrous worship. '• The proceedings of this council, composed of ignorant fathers and stupid monks, having been presented to us, we are compelled to reject the ridiculous doctrines which they command, and we have undertaken this work by the advice of the bishops of our kingdom, to refute the gross errors of the Eastern priests and the still more absurd propositions of the clergy of Rome. '• Charlemagne in his books, prohibits from calling holy, images which have no sanctity, neither natural nor acquired. He condemns the worship bestowed on them, and quotes, in support of his opinion, the celebrated pas- sage of the Bible, in which it is said that Abraham adored the children of Heth, lead- ing us to observe that he performed this as an act of veneration, or rather of mundane hom- age, and not of a religious adoration. He re- plied victoriously to the sophistries drawn from the writings of the fathers and quoted by the council of Nice, as to the utility of repre- sentations in the churches. '• He proscribed the worship, adoration, homage or honour, rendered to images, by bending the knees, bowing the head, or ofTering to them incense. We should adore, said he, neither angels nor men, still less images, which have no reason, and are worthy neither of veneration nor salutation, since they can neither see, nor hear nor comprehend * * *." Finally, the prince concluded his preface, by blaming the conduct of an abbot, who had dared to maintain in full council, that it was better to frequent taverns and brothels, to commit adultery, rape, incest, and even mur- der, than abstain from the adoration of the statues of Jesus Christ, his holy mother, and the glorious martyrs. Such is the summary of the Carolin books, or the books attributed to Charlemagne on the worship of images. This same year was signalized by a new heresy which broke out in Spain. Elipand, archbisliop of Toledo, consulted Felix, bishop of Urgel, whose pupil he had been, to know in what manner he should recognize Jesus Christ as the Son of God ; whether as his natural or adopted Son. Felix replied, that in his human nature Jesus Christ was but the adopted Son of God ; and that in his divine nature he was his natural Son. Elipand having approved of this decision of his master, propagated this doctrine in the Asturias and Galicia. Felix, on his part, spread it beyond the Pyrenees, through the province of Languedoc. Adrian, informed of this sacrilegious heresy, addres- sed a letter to all the bishops of Spain, to exhort them to fortify themselves against the new doctrine, which appeared to tarnish the conduct of the virgin Mary, and represent her as an adultress. His holiness exhorted them to remain firm in the faith of the orthodox church, and to agree with St. Peter, "who," he added, " had positively recognized Jesus Christ as the Son of the living God." He quoted also passages from several Greek and Latin authors, in order to establish by their authority, that the title of adopted children belonged to Christians, and not to Jesus Christ, He complained at the same time of various abuses which had been introduced into the churches of Spain. Some prelates of that province put back the celebration of Easter beyond the time prescribed by the council of Nice. Others treated as ignorant such of the faithful as refused to eat the blood of pork and the food of strangled animals. A great number of priests, abusing the texts of the &riptures in relation to predestination, denied free will ; and finally, the greater part of the prelates, conforming to the morals of the Jews and Pagans, scandalized the Christians by illicit marriages, or kept several concubines in their houses. The bishops shut up in their episcopal residences courtezans and eunuchs, under the pretext of wishing to convert the Arabs, by conforming to their manners, but in reality to continue, more easily, a life of shame and debauchery. The pope lanched terrible anathemas against them, and ordered the metropolitan Elipand to assemble at Toledo a national council to examine into his doctrine concerning the Sa- viour, and the error of Migeus as to Easter. The archbishop obeyed, and the council de- clared in opposition to the opinion of the pon- tiff, that they might teach the adoption of Jesus Christ. Charlemagne, who was desirous of main- taining unity of belief in his kingdom, wrote to the holy father to make a solemn decision on this important question. Adrian, intimi- dated by the decision of the Spanish prelates, dared not assemble a new synod. He con- tented himself with quoting the passages from the fathers he had alreany cited, and treated as sacrilegious those who wished to argue upon an article of faith which St. Peter had confessed, by saying to Jesus, "Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God." After this reasoning, and to shun all controversy, he concluded by pronouncing as heretical, all Christians who did not think as he did, and he declared them excommunicated by virtue of the powers he held from the apostle. The thunders of the pope did not intimidate Charlemagne ; that prince wishing to put an end to the quarrels of the bishops of the West, convoked a council at Frankfort on the Maine, his royal residence. The prelates of all the provinces submissive to his sway, hastened to obey his orders, and assembled to the number of three hundred. Three hun- dred priests or monks were added to them, with the principal lords of the imperial court. The sovereign himself presided over 206 HISTORY OF THE POPES. the assembly, and caused his eloquence in theological discussions to be admired. The result of the deliberations of the as- sembly was sent to the Spanish ecclesiastics, in the form of a synodical letter, and Charle- magne also wrote to them in his own name — "We are profoundly touched, lords bishops, by the oppressions which the infidel causes you to endure ; but we suffer a still greater affliction from the error which reigns among yon, and which has forced us to assemble a council of all the prelates of our kingdom, to declare the orthodox faith on the adoption of the flesh of Jesus Christ. " We have examined your writings with pro- found attention, and your objections have been discussed, article by article, in the synod. Each bishop, in our presence, has had full liberty to express his opinion, and, by the aid of God, this important question is finally de- cided. " I conjure you, however, to embrace our confession of faith in the spirit of peace, and not to elevate your doctrines above the deci- sions of the universal church. " Previous to the scandal to which you have given rise by the error of *the adoption, we loved you as our brethren ; the uprightness of your belief consoled us in your temporal ser- vitude, and we had resolved to free you from the oppression of the Saracens. " Do not, then, deprive yourselves of the par- ticipation of our prayers and our aid; for if, after the admonition of the pope and the warnings of the council, you do not renounce your error, we shall regajd you as heretics, and shall not dare to have further communion with you. ''■ As to the proposition submitted to our judg- ment, on the new synod held at Constanti- nople, in which it was ordained, under pe- nalty of anathema, to render to the images of saints, the worship and adoration rendered to the divine Trinity, the fathers of our assembly have rejected this sacrilegious doctrine as im- pious, and reject the judgment of the court of Rome." Unfortunately for France, the successors of Charlemagne did not conform to this judi- cious decision ; the second comicil of Nice prevailed in the following ages, and the fury of religious wars, excited by the priests, soon covered whole provinces with ruin, disasters, incendiarism and massacre. The books attributed to Charlemagne, against the worship of images, were carried to the pope by Angelbert, abbot of Centula. Adrian replied immediately to the king of France, "We have received Angelbert, a minister of your chapel, whom we know to have been brought up in your palace, and whom you admit to all your counsels; he has submitted to us the capitularies signed with your name. We have listened favourably to that which he has submitted on your part, as if we had listened to it from your own mouth ; and the affection we have for your person has led us to reply to those decisions, article by article, to maintain the ancient traditions of the Roman church. We refuse, however, to regard these books as being your own work, except the last, which orders your people to obey our See. " We have received the decrees of the coun- cil of Nice to prevent the Greeks from return- ing to their errors, but we have not yet given to the emperor our definite reply ; and before granting peace to him, we shall exact that he shall restore to the Roman church the juris- diction of several bishoprics and archbishop- rics, as well as the patrimonies taken from us by Iconoclastic princes. " Up to this time, our just reclamations not having been listened to, we might from thence deduce the belief that this indifference de- monstrates that the Greek emperors are not really orthodox. " If you approve of it, we will write, in your name, to Constantine and his mother, to thank them for the re-establishment of the images ; we will urge them to restore our jurisdiction and our patrimonies, and if they persist in their refusal, we shall declare them, and all their subjects of Europe and Asia heretics, and will threaten them with your wrath." This skilful reply shows how necessary it was for the Holy See to be cautious in its conduct towards the king of the French. Still, notwithstanding the wishes of Charle- magne and the decision of the synod of Frankfort, the worship of images passed into the Galilean church as an essental dogTna. It was in vain that theologians endeavoured to lay down rules for the distinction of the mode in which the representations were to be ho- noured, and that they established the latria as the worship due to God alone : that of the hy- perdulia as destined for the Virgin and her pretended portraits, and that of simple dulia for the ordinary saints. The faithful persisted in seeing God himself in his representations, and adored the statues of stone and wood, as well as paintings and all sorts of images. This adoration, which the court of Rome encouraged, constituted a true idolatry, which had been severely proscribed by the founders of Christianity an(| the fathers of the first ages of the church ; since the historian Philostorgus relates, that in his time they refused to render any honour to a statue of Christ, which it was affirmed had been erected at Panteades, a small city of Jerusalem, with the consent of Herod the Tetrarch, and on the request of a woman whom Jesus had cured of a bloody ffux. This statue had been overthrown by the predecessor of Constantine the Great, and since that moment had lain in the midst of the public square, half buried in the rubbish, and concealed by the grass which grew around it. When it was drawn out from this spot, it was placed in the sacristry of a church, and they were careful to avoid adoring it. This statue disappeared miraculously, as the priests afhrm, during the reign of Julian. Whilst the pontiff was prostrating him.self at the feet of Charlemagne, an English prince came to bend before the bishop of Rome to obtain pardon for his sins, and the protection HISTORY OF THE POPES, 207 of the apostle. Offa, the second king of the Mercians, after having slain Ethelbert, the last king of the East Angles, whom he had in- vited to his court on the pretence of giving hira his daughter in marriage, went to Rome, according to the custom of the age, and de- manded from the holy father absolution for his crime. The pope, turning the fanaticism of the prince to the profit of his avarice, would not consent to reconcile him with Heaven, except on condition that he should authorize the laws of Peter's pence in his domains, and found religious retreats of which the holy father should sell the benefices. OfTa, assured of his eternal salvation, returned to his king- dom, constructed several monasteries in ho- nour of St. Alban and other inhabitants of the skies, and in conformity with his promise, placed the revenues at the disposal of the so- vereign pontiff. Adrian died shortly after, on the 25th of December, 795, after having occupied the See of Rome for twenty-four years. He displaye-d remarkable political skill in the management of the church. His supple and adroit spirit knew how to bend before power, in order to augment the authority of Rome, and extend her rule over the people. Avarice was his rulinir passion, and notwithstanding the ex- pense at which he was in the construction of convents and churches, he left immense w-ealth to his successor. — He was interred in the church of St. Peter. LEO THE THIKD, THE ONE HUNDREDTH POPE. [A. D. 795.] Election of Leo — He recognizes Charlemagne as sovereign of Rome — His liberality to churches and mojiasteries — The spoils of the Huns converted into sacred vessels and church ornaments — The king of the Mercians submits to the See of Rome — The pontiff grants to the archbishop of Canterbury the power to excommunicate kings — Attempt against the person of the pontiff — Bitterness of the conspirators — Leo is horribly mutilated — He is confined in a dungeon by the conspirators — He is taken out during the night and conducted into France — His return to Rome — Information against his assailants — Charlemagne goes to Italy — Leo crowns him em- peror of the Romans — The miracles of the Christ of Mantua — Knavery of the pontiff — Will of Charlemagne — New conspiracy against the life of the pope — Sedition of the Romans-— His death. On the very day of the funeral of Adrian, Leo the Third was elevated to the pontifical throne. He was originally from Rome, and had dwelt from his infancy in the patriarchal palace of the Lateran. He had been first or- dained a sub-deacon, and afterwards a priest of the order of St. Susanna. In his difi"erent ecclesiastical functions, Leo had acquired the esteem of the clergy, the grandees and the people, who chose him on the death of Adrian, as the most worthy to succeed him. After having been enthroned in the midst of general acclamations, Leo deputed to France legates bearing to the king the keys of the confessional of St. Peter, the standard of the city of Rome, and magnificent presents. He besought Charlemagne to send to the Holy See French lords, who should receive the oath of fidelity from tlie Romans. The prince sent immediately with Angelbert several chariots, filled with riches taken from the Huns at the pillage of their capital. At the same time he addressed to the pontiff letters conceived in these terms — " We have read, with profound satisfaction, the decretal of your election ; we unite our suffrage with that of the Romans, who have elevated you to the chair of the apostle, and we recognize with joy, that you preserve the fidelity and obedience which are due to us. " In testimony of our satisfaction, we send to you one of our devoted servants, laden with presents which we destine for St. Peter. He will confer with you on all things w hich may interest the glory of the church, affirming it by your dignity, and the authority of our pa- triciate." In the instructions given to his embassador, the king of France recommends to him to urge upon the pontiff to reform the morals of the Italian clergy, to put an end to the dis- graceful traffic in sacred offices, and not to think that the sums sent to him as pensions, were to be spent on priestly debauchees. In accordance with the wishes of the prince, Leo transformed the treasures of the Huns into vases of silver, chalices of gold, rose-co- loured strainers, and sacerdotal ornaments em- broidered with gold and precious stones. A part of the money served to pay for the em- bellishments to the palace of the Lateran, and the holy father ornamented his residence with colnmns of porphyry, balustrades of marble, and paintings in mosaic. One of these represented St. Peter seated, holding on his knees the three keys of paradise; Pope Leo was on his right, and Charlemagne on his left, both prostrate at his feet ; with one hand the apostle was giving a pallium to the pope, and with ihe other he presented to the king a standaril adorned with sLx roses, on a\ hich was written, '-'Holy Peter, gives life to Pope Leo and victory to King Charles." Qnenulph, sovereign of the IMercians, and 208 HISTORY OF THE POPES, the successor of Offa, wrote to Leo, to con- gratulate him on his advent to the pontitical throne, beseeching him to regard him as his adopted son, and promising to him entire obe- dience to his will. He added in his letter, '■'You should be advised, most holy father, of the division of the diocese of Canterbury, or- dered by your predecessor, in order to dimi- nish the authority of the metropolitan of that See. Pope Adrian, instead of sustaining the chief of that See, consented through a coward- ly condescendence, to give the pallium to the bishop of the Mercians, in order to elevate that prelate to the same rank as the archbi- shop of Canterbury. This measure has caused a great schism in our kingdom, and to avoid a revolution, we have been obliired not to de- clare our preference. We now beseech you, most holy father, to advise us what steps we ought to take in so difficult circumstances." The embassador of the English king was the prelate Athelrade, former abbot of Malms- bury, who had been nominated bishop of Winchester, and finally metropolitan of Can- terbury. This wary monk, when presenting himself before the holy ^father, to place in his hands the letter of Q'uenulph, did not forget to offer him, for the treasury of the church, one hundred and twenty marks of gold. The pontiff" not only re-established the primate of England, but he even gave him the power of excommunicating the kings and princes of his jurisdiction. In execution of this decree, Athelrade, on his return to his diocese, held a synod, and in the presence of the prin- cipal English lords and of the king himself, he declared as excommunicatetl and devoted to eternal fire, the laity who should dare to lay a sacrilegious hand on the property of the clergy. Felix of Urgel continued to propagate his heresy in Spain, notwithstanding his condem- nation by the French bishops. Charlemagne then renewed his remonstrances to the court of Rome, and demanded the convocation of a general council to condemn the error defi- nitely. Leo hastened to accede to the desires of the monarch, and by his orders, all the prelates of Italy assembled at Rome, in the church of St. Peter. The pontiff opened the session in the following discourse, "My breth- ren, at a council held at Ratisbon, by the king of the Franks, previous to our reign, an heretic named Felix confessed that he had fallen into error in maintaining that Jesus Christ was the adopted son of God, according to the flesh. " Our predecessor, to obtain this retraction, had been obliged to use rigour towards this re- bellious son, and to confine him in our prisons as an heretic. A salutary fear of torture caused him to abjure his impious doctrine, and he even subscribed to a profession of or- thodox faith, which is still deposited in our patriarchal palace. But after this public manifestation, the apostate fled into the country of the Pagan, where he braves the anathemas of our council, which has already excommunicated him, and which condemns him anew by my mouth.'' I Felix, surrounded by universal veneration in his diocese in Spain, did not disquiet him- ' self on account of the thunders of the Holy See, and persevered in his doctrine. In his turn, Leo became the victim of the religious passions which he wished to excite against the Spanish prelate. Two ambitious priests, Pascal, the prinicier, and Canaplus, the treasurer, formed a plot against the life of the pontiff, and were aided in the execution of their execrable project by the monks, whose fanaticism was let loose through fear of reforms. At the close of a solemn procession and at the moment when the pontiff was re-entering the palace of the Lateran, the conspirators fell upon his escort, tore him from his horse, dragged him by his beard, sought to break his skull by blows of stones, and left him ly- ing on the pavement, covered with wounds, and giving no signs of life ; when the assas- sins, fearing they had not consummated their crime, carried him into the church of the convent of St. Stephen and St. Sylvester, of which they closed the gates, and there, upon the very steps of the altar, these monsters en- deavoured to deprive him of his eyes and liis tongue, rending him with their nails and their teeth; finally, they cast him, covered with blood, into the dungeons of the monasteries. Leo remained there two entire days, without succour, extended upon the floor of his pri- son. On the third day the abbot Erasmus, one of the conspirators, descended with the monks, to carry out his dead body, and place it in a coffin. As the unfortunate m.au still breathed, he was carried to another convent, that no one might discover his retreat, where the accomplices kept him hidden, until they had decided upon his fate. During the night, Albyn, the chamberlain of the pope, informed by a religious of the place in which he was confined, penetrated to his dungeon with some devoted servants, and having borne him away, descended by the walls of the city, and carried him to St. Peter's, where the physicians bestowed on him all the care which his wretched state re- quired. The pontiff preserved the use of his eyes and tongi.re, which caused some au- thors to affirm that he was cured bj- a mira- cle. But Leo himself, in the recital which he has left of this horrible adventure, explains, that in their haste, the murderers had only cut off a part of his tongue, and had lifted the eyes without tearing them from their orbits. Albyn informed the duke of Spoletto of this horrible attempt, and besought him to come to Rome Avith his soldiers to protect the pope and facilitate the means of his going into France. By his aid the holy father passed the Alps in safety, and went to the court of Charlemagne, which was then at Padeihorn, in Saxony, where the king received him with great marks of affection, and even shed tears when embracing him. Pascal and Canaplus, furious at seeing Leo escape their vengeance, assembled their parti- zans and burned the domains of the church; HISTORY OF THE POPES. 209 they then sent to the king deputies, instructed to bring against tiie holy lather the most frightful accusations. The indignant prince drove them from his court without listening to them, and caused the holy father to be re- conducted into Italy, accompanied by his principal bishops, several counts, and an im- posing escort. In all the cities the pontiff was received by the population as if he were St. Peter himself; and when he approached Rome, the clergy, the senate, the militia, the citizens, the women and even the deaconesses, and female religious, all preceded by holy banners, went in proces- sion to meet him, singing sacred hymns. Leo made his triumphal entry into the city and retook possession of the palace of the Lateran. Some days after, the prelates and lords who had accompanied him, assembled in council to hear the accusations brought against him by Pascal, Canaplus, and their accomplices. The pontiff" was declared innocent, and his ac- cusers were condemned to be beaten with rods and imprisoned for life. The justification of the pope, did not, how- ever, appear regular to the citizens of Rome, who were e.xcited by the Italian priests, who were jealous of the favour which he granted to the French prelates. Leo, fearful of a new conspiracy, wrote to Charlemagne, advising him of his fears, and beseeching him to hasten the period of the journey which he was about to make into Italy. The king assented to his desire, and made his entry into Rome in the month of Decem- ber, in the year 800. Seven days after his arrival, Charlemagne convoked the clergy, the senate, and the people; he explained be- fore the assembly that he had quitted his kingdom to put an end to the calumnious ac- cusations which sacrilegious priests dared to spread against the pontiff. He examined, one by one, all the charges contained in the ac- cusation of Canaplus, and then commanded those around him to speak out without fear in their support, if they appeared to them well founded. No one having replied, the pontiff was ad- mitted to justify himself by oath, before the immense multitude which filled the church of St. Peter; he took the book of the Apostles in his hands, raised it above his head, mounted the tribune, and said, "I swear upon the word of God. that I have not committed the crimes of which the Romans have accused me." On tlie next day the king received the final recompense of all that he had done for the court of Rome. He went in great pomp to the cathedral, where the pope, clothed in his sacerdotal ornaments, waited for him with his clergy, and there in the presence of the lord.><, prelates, and magistrates of the city, the holy father placed on his head a crown of iron, and said in a loud voice, '-To Charles Augustus, crowned by the hand of God, Emperor of the Romans, life and victory." Lengthened accla- mations resounded beneath the vaulted roof of St. Peter's, and the assistants repeated, '-Life and victory to Charles Augrtstus, crowned by Vol. I. 2 B the hand of God Emperor of the Romans." Then Leo prostrated himself before the new sovereign, and adored him, according to the usage of the ancient Caesars, recognizing him as his legitimate sovereign and the defender of the church. Thus was re-established, after an interval of three hundred ami twenty-four years, the dignity of Roman Emperor, extinct since the year of our Lord 476. When the ceremony was completed, Charlemagne made immense donations to the churches of St. Paul, St. John the Lateran, and St. Maria IMajora; he gave to the church of St. Peter, two tables of silver, chalices, perfume pans, and vases of gold en- riched with precious stones, and allowed great sums for lighting it, and for the maintenance of its priests. On his return to France, the new emperor was occupied in arranging the afl'airs of church and state; he convoked at Aix-la-Chapelle a national council, at which Paulin, patriarch of Aquileia, assisted as the legate of the pope ; and amongst the rules estabhshed by it, one of the most remarkable was in reference to the rural bishops. It is decreed in the name of Charlemagne, in the following terms; '-We have been frequently beset by complaints against the rural bishops, not only by the clergy, but even by the laity. The popes, the predecessors of Leo the Third, have de- clared in several synods, that these ecclesias- tics have not the power to ordain priests, dea- cons, and sub-deacons ; that they are not per- mitted to dedicate churches, consecrate vir- gins, nor administer the rite of confirmation ; they even induced our prcdeces?ors to con- demn them all and semi them into exile, no matter what might have been the purity of their lives. '• Consequently, by the authority of the pon- tiff who now governs the Holy See, and fol- lowing the advice of our prelates, and other subjects, we decree, that rural bishops shall not for the future exercise any episcopal func- tions under pain of deposition."' At this period, the metropolitan Fortuna- tus, sent deputies to Rome, to solicit the me- diation of Leo, and to implore the intervention of the emperor with John, duke of Venice^ and his son Maurice, who wished to drive him from his See. The pope received favour- ably the letters, and presents of the arch- bishop, and promised the envoys to obtain for their master the protection of the emperor. Leo determined in fact to undertake a new journey to France, to negotiate this affair, and to obtain from the prince several other decision? touching the temporal interests of the Holy See ; but fearing to be arrested m his project, by the duke of Venice and his son, he availed himself of the superstition of the times, to lull suspicion. He caused it to be rumored about that the Christ of Mantua had shed drops of blood, which perfomied nu- merous miracles, and under pretence of assur- ing himself of the reality of these prodigies, he went to that city and from thence passed secretly into France. 210 HISTORY OF THE POPES. Charlemagne was then at Aix-la-Chapelle. When he was informed of the arrival of the pope, he immediately sent his son Charles as far as St. Maurice, in the Valois, to meet him, whilst he himself went to Rheims to receive him. They passed eight days together in the consideration of grave political and religious questions. Finally, the pope retired, laden with presents. Charlemagne accompanied him through Bavaria, as far as the city of Ravenna. Some time after, the emperor, perceiving the appearance of death, assembled at Thion- ville his principal lords, and in their presence divided his states between his three sons, Charles, Pepin, and Louis. In this division, the emperor made no mention of the dutchy of Rome, of which he reserved to himself the disposition. He read his will, and after hav- ing made the grandees of his court swear to its execution, he sent it to the Holy See, that the pope might affix to it his signature to con- firm its authenticity. The secretary of the prince wrote at the same time to Leo in favour of the metropolitan Fortunatus, who had been ^riven from his See by the Venetians and Greeks. He be- sought him in the name of his master to give to the persecuted prelate, the church of Pola in Istria, which was vacant by the death of the bishop Emilian. The pontiff complied with the request of the emperor, with the reser- vation, however, that if Fortunatus should return to his diocese of Grada, he should re- store the See of Pola, without retaining any of the property belonging to that church. In his reply he added ; " Since you desire to pre- serve for this unworthy prelate, temporal goods and honours, we beseech you also to take care of his soul; for the fear with which you in- spire him, will without doubt compel him to reform his morals, which cause shame among the faithful. Our affection for your sacred person, and our desire to contribute to the safety of your soul, induce us to give you this advice ; for even we ourselves have been led into error, and we ask pardon of God for having. in former times, accepted presents from this priestly debauchee. The ecclesiastics of your court have been gained by the gold of Fortu- natus, and those who have dared to defend him, will answer before God for the dis- orders which he shall commit in the diocese which you have ordered me to confide to him." In the following year, (809,) a new council was held at Aix-la-Chapelle, by order of Charlemagne, to determine the attributes of the Holy Spirit. Bernard, bishop of Worais, and Abelard, abbot of Corbie, were sent to Rome to carry to the pope the decision of the council, drawn up by Smagarde, abbot of St. Michael, at Verdun, and in which the fathers proved by Holy Scriptures and the opinions of the ancients, that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son as well as from the Father. The deputies of the monarch pre- sented their instructions to Leo and entered with him into grave discussions, without be- ing able to induce him to approve of the de- cisions of the French synod. But the holy father always presented in dis- cussion an exemplary mildness and modesty, keeping within bounds in refuting questions which he did not think just. He agreed with them, that we are not permitted to pronounce against the usages of other churches, and that no man can advance a positive opinion on religious matters, which always contain in- comprehensible mysteries. " The holy dark- ness in which Christ has veiled his mysteries, is too thick, added he, for us to undertake to dis- sipate it; we should confine ourselves to things clear and palpable, and not jump into the abyss of theology from which no human mind is able to sally." He applauded the decretals of Charlemagne, by which the prelates of the Galilean church were prohibited from hunt- ing, shedding the blood of Christians or pagans, and having several legitimate wives; and which prohibited priests from saying mass without communing themselves, as was gene- rally practised at that period. He applauded the emperor for havuig interdicted doctors in theology from introducing new angels into the liturgy, other than Michael, Gabriel, and Ra- phael ; he particularly praised him for having prohibited nuns from taking the veil under twenty-five years of age, and also clerks from being made priests under thirty, and all ec- clesiastics from employing pious frauds to deceive the credulity of the simple, from sur- rendering themselves to magical operations, from being addicted to intemperance, and from selling to the faithful permission to get drunk at taverns. Finally, he declared that the prince had acted under the guidance of the Spirit, in fixing two periodical periods for the holding of provincial councils, and in esta- blishing severe rules of conduct for the regu- lar and secular clergy. These rules were neither the first nor the only ones which had already been published in Gaul upon ecclesiastical matters. The great emperor, who embraced in his vast con- ceptions all the spiritual and material amelio- rations of his powerful empire, had already written an entire volume of capitularies on every species of religious questions, but with- out having attained the end which he had pro- posed, the repressal of the numerous abuses introduced by the priests. Then all was mix- ed up, confounded in the most deplorable man- ner, rights and duties, privileges and charges; there was nothing everywhere but the op- pressed and their oppressors. The immuni- ties of the clergy shackled at each step the progress of the civil power, which, in its turn, frequently clutched the ecclesiastical juris- diction. It was necessary then to use a salu- tary prudence in introducing any reform into society, and to induce the priests to consent to contribute at least a small part of their im- mense incomes to the wants of the state. Ar- mies were led by clergymen, and in return, bishoprics and abbeys were frequently direct- ed by military men or the favourites of princes. The councils, composed of men interested in HISTORY OF THE POPES, 211 preserving this order of things, offered invin- cible obstacles to the wishes of the emperor, and we should not be astonished, that not- withstanding the wisdom of the advice of the pope, the French bishops were unwilling to agree with his opinion, but continued to teach that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Son as well as the Father. Charlemagne died before the return of his embassadors ; the hand of God weighed heavily on the powerful monarch, whose fore- head was adorned with the crown of emperors and kings. By his exploits, he had placed the kingdom of France in the first rank of nations, and by his fanaticism had augmented the power of the Holy See, enriched churches and monasteries, and laid the foundation of that theocratic power which extended itself in the following ages over Ital)-, Europe, the entire world, and which trampled the people beneath the most frightful tyranny. But this zealous defender of the pontiffs carried to his tomb the force which repressed religious factions, and which inspired in priests and monks a salutary terror. At this period, hyprocrisy, avarice, luxury, were the sole virtues of the ecclesiastics ; so that the great king being dead, they wished to overthrow the severe rule of Leo and foment conspiracies against his life. But warned bj' terrible experience of the dangers which sove- reigns incur who have excited hatred against them, the pope guarded against their plots, arrested the conspirators and had them exe- cuted in front of the palace of the Lateran. The women were exiled, the children of the guilty shut up in the monasteries of Rome, and all their goods confiscated for the benefit of the Holy See. Still the terror which this new conspiracy against him had induced, in- jured his health ; he became dangerously ill and died in 816, after a pontificate of twenty years, five months, and si.xteen d^s. Leo, who twice fell beneath the vengeance of the priests, still showed himself prodigal towards them ; he heaped up wealth on the monks and clergy by making to the churches such magnificent offerings as to excite the in- dignation of the people. He employed four hundred and fifty-three pounds weight of gold for the pavement of the confessional of St. Peter, and enclosed the entrance to the sanc- tuary by a balustrade of silver, weighing five hundred and seventy-three pounds, fie rebuilt the baptistery of St. Andrew, surrounded it with columns of porphyry, and in the midst of the baptismal fonts he placed a column of gold which sustained a silver lamb. Then he ornamented the windows of the church of the Lateran with glass of divers colours, a luxury unknown before that period. All these offerings to the churches of Rome amounted to more than eight hundred pounds weight of gold, and twenty thousand of silver, a sum so enormous, that we should doubt the reality of these expenses, if they were not attested by the most trustworthy historians. Leo was placed among the saints in 1673, and his name was added to the Roman martyrology. Cardinal Baronius contests the miracle of the bloody hand as happening during the pon- tificate of Leo the First; he affirms that Leo the Third was the first pope who introduced the custom of giving the foot to be kissed in- stead of the hand, because he felt one day carnal sensations under the impress of the lips of a Roman lady. "Rare example of Chris- tian humility," exclaims the cardinal, "an ex- cellent method of preventing the sensations of concupiscence !" We should recognize in this assertion the hypocritical language of a priest, who endea- vours to conceal the pride of the popes under religious appearances, and we shall attribute to the vanity or ambition of the bish(?ps of Rome the sacrilegious custom of presenting their feet for the adoration of the faithful. The successors of the apostles have always sought to elevate themselves above kings, and to constrain the people to prostrate them- selves before them; for from the very first ages of the church, the prelates have exacted that the faithful should kneel to receive their benediction. THE NINTH CENTURY. STEPHEN THE FIFTH, THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIRST POPE. Rcfrctions on the Ecclesiastical history of the ninth century — Election of Stephen the Fifth — His journey to France — The Emperor Louis receives him tvilh great honours — His return to Rome — Death. At the beginning of the ninth century, the Holy See found itself freed from the yoke of the Greek emperors, the exarchs of Ravenna and the Lombard kings. The popes by crown- ing Charlemagne emperor of the West, had pro- cured for themselves powerful and interested protectors in his successors, who, in order to maintain their tyranny over the people, com- pelled all the bishops to submit, without any examination of them, to the decisions of the court of Rome. But a strange change was soon seen at work in religion ; holy traditions were despised, the morality of Christ was outraged ; the ortho- doxy of the church no longer consisted in any thing but the sovereignty of the pope, the adoration of images, and the invocation of saints; in sacred singing, the solemnity of 212 HISTORY OF THE POPES. masses, and the pomps of ceremonies ; in the consecration of temple?, splendid churches, monastic vows and pilgrimages. Rome imposed its fanaticism and its super- stitions on all the other churches; morality, faith and true piety were replaced by cupidity, ambition, and luxury; the ignorance of the clergy was so profound that a knowledge of the singing of the Lord's prayer, the creed, and the service of the mass was all that was demanded from princes and ecclesiastical dig- nitaries. The protection which Charlemagne had granted to letters was powerless to change the shameful habits of the priests, and to draw them from the incredible degradation into which they had been plunged ; and the popes who wished to rear capable subjects, Avere obliged to educate in their own palaces, chil- dren who displayed an aptitude for learning. Stephen the Fifth, who was of one of the most considerable families of Rome, was ad- mitted into the patriarchal palace, according to the custom of the age, to obtain his educa- tion. The pontiff Leo ordained him sub-dea- con, and afterwards conferred on him the dia- conate, when he had perceived that the young ecclesiastic was worthy of his protection from the constant application he gave to his stu- dies. After the death of the pope, Stephen united in his favour the unanimous suffrages of the clergy, the grandees and the people, and was designated as his successor upon the throne of St. Peter. The first act of the new pontiff was to send legates to the new emperor to ask an interview with him. This step was necessary for the interests of the^Holy See, which was threatened by the emperor of the East, and as the danger was im- minent, Stephen determined to go himself to France without waiting for the return of the en- voys or the reply of Louis. The French mon- arch having learned that the holy father was on his way to his kingdom, immediately despatch- ed messengers to his nephew Bernard, king of Italy, with orders to accompany the pontiff across the Alps ; at the same time he sent embassadors and guards who should serve as his escort to Rheims. On the arrival of Stephen, the emperor or- dered the great dignitaries of his kingdom, the arch-chaplain Hildebald, Theodulph, bishop of Orleans. John, metropolitan of Aries, and several other prelates to go to meet the pope with great ceremony. He himself advanced with his court as far as the monastery of St. Remi, and as soon as he perceived the pontiff, he dismounted from his horse and prostrated himself before him, exclaiming " Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord." Stephen took him by the hand, replying, " Blessed be the Lord, who has caused us to see a second David." They then embraced and went to the metropolitan church, where they sung a Te Duem. Both prayed for a long time in silence ; finally, the pope rose, and in a loud voice thundered forth canticles of gladness in honour of the king of France. The next day he sent to the queen and the great officers of the court the presents which he had brought from Rome, and the following Sunday, before celebrating divine service, he consecrated the emperor anew, placed on his head a crown of gold enriched with precious stones, and presented to him another destined for Irmengarde, whom he saluted with the name of empress. During his sojourn at Rheims. Stephen pass- ed all his days in conversing with Louis the Easy, on the affairs of the church, and obtained from him all he desired ; he even induced him to place at liberty the murderers who had at- tempted the life of Leo the Third. We are led to believe that the rules then made by the emperor, for the sham reform of the regular clergy, were the fniit of his conferences with the holy father. His decrees particularly treated of the abuses which had been intro- duced into the church by canons and canon- esses. Since the time of St. Chrodegang, the first reformer of this order, the men and women who made a part of it had fallen into the strang- est depravity ; they lived together in the same convents, abandoning themselves without any remorse, to the most shameless debauchery, licentiousness, drunkenness, and idleness, and had even the impudence to rear up under their very eyes the fruits of their adulteries and in- cests. Louis the Easy, at the instigation of the pope, ordered them to inhabit separate con- vents, and bnly authorized them to hold their houses by the title of a common property, or permitted them to reunite them by day, and to receive persons who were agreeable to them. He also made rules to determine the quantity of food and wine that they should consume, in order to put an end to their gluttony. He en- joined on them also not to wear the monastic habit, and to adopt one as an insignia of their order, which to this day serves to distinguish canons and canonesses. Finally, the pontiff returned to Italy, laden with honours and presents. He did not long enjoy the favour of the French monarch and the pontificial authority ; he died on the 22d of January, 817, having occupied the Holy See for seven months. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 213 PASCAL THE FIRST, THE ONE HUNDRED AND SECOND POPE. [A. D. 817.] Election of Pascal — Louis addresses remonstrances to the Romans — New donations to the Church — Ridiculous story of St. Cecilia — The pope puts out the eyes and tears out the ton^ies of two Roman priests who remained faithful to France — Louis orders an inquiry into it — The pontiff' justijies himself by oath from the murders of which he was accused — His death. Pascal, the son of Bonosus, reared, like his predecessor, in the palace of the Lateran, had received from Leo the Third, the government of the monastery of St. Stephen, situated near to St. Peter's. He was charged with the dis- tribution of alms to the poor of Rome, and particularly to pilgrims who came from dis- tant countries; these duties brought him in great wealth, which he afterwards used in intriguing for the papacy. After the death of Stephen, the Holy See remained vacant some days. The people and the clergy having assembled, chose the priest Pascal, who caused himself to be consecrated without waiting for the arrival of the envoys of the emperor. The pope, knowing the weak- ness of the French monarch, did not even take the pains to e.\cuse himself for this want of delicacy ; he placed the fault upon the Ro- mans, who had obliged him to be consecrated immediately, that he might be enabled to exercise his pontificial functions. Louis then notified the citizens of Rome, that they should be careful for the future how they wounded his imperial majesty, and that they must pre- serve more religiously the customs of their ancestors. But this easy prince soon repented that he had written so severely ; and in order to atone for his fault, he renewed the treaty of alliance which confirmed to the Holy See the dona- tions of Pepin and Charlemagne, his grand- father and father ; he even augmented the domains of the church, and recognized the absolute sovereignty of the pontiff over seve- ral patrimonies of Campania, Calabria, and the countries of Naples and Salermo, as well as the jurisdiction of the popes over the city and dutchy of Rome, the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily. As to this last province, the presumption is, that it was added by an act of frautlulent interpolation ; for it is certain that at this period Sicily did not appertain to the French princes, but made a part of the empire of the East. Finally, Louis, renouncing the privileges of his crown, assured to the Romans the privilege of a free election, and granted to them permission not to send legates into France until after the conseci-ation of the popes. The court of Rome thus became a formida- ble power; nor were the popes possessed of immense revenues, but the sovereigns of the West placed armies under their command, ruined empires, exterminated people in the name of St. Peter, and sent the spoils of the vanquisheil to increase the wealth of the Ro- man clergy, and to support the monks in idle- ness and debauchery. The pontiffs were no longer content to treat on equal terms with princes ; they refused to receive their envoys, and to open their messages. Thus the emperor of the East, Leo the Fifth, and Theodore, patriarch of Constantinople, hav- ing sent to Pascal nuncios, instructed to con- consult with him in regard to the worship of images, the holy father refused to see them, and drove them in disgrace from Rome. The embassadors were obliged to return to Byzan- tium with their despatches. Pascal, encouraged by the eulogiums of Theodore Studitus, a zealous adorer of im- ages, had the impudence, after this excess of audacity, to send legates to Constantinople to order the emperor and patriarch to re-estab- lish the worship of images. The prince in his turn, used reprisals upon the envoys of the pontiff"; he caused them to be whippeil through the streets of the city, and to be avenged on the pope, he showed extreme severity towards the image worshippers. Pascal, desirous of sustaining his struggle against the emperor, published that all the Christians of Constantinople, who should have suffered for the faith of the church, would be received at Rome and supported at the ex- pense of St. Peter; for this purpose he rebuilt the church of St. Praxedes and founded an immense monastery for the orientals, where divine service was celebrated by day and night in the Greek language ; he bestowed on the convent large revenues in lands and houses; he ornamented splendidly the interior of the church, and placed on the high altar a taber- nacle of silver weighing eight hundred pounds. This liberality exhausted his treasures, and as the faithful showed great luke-warmness in despoiling themselves for the benefit of strangers, the pope adopted a singular expedi- ent to cause alms to flow into his purse. He rebuilt the church of St. Cecilia, which had fallen into ruins and adorned it with greyt magnificence; he then placed on the high altar the shrhie of the saint, but destitute of her remains. On the following Sunday he convoked the people to matins in the cathe- dralj antl whilst he was prostrated in the af- fliction of his soul, he feigned to fall into a supernatural slumber. Scarcely had he fallen asleep upon his seat, when St. Cecilia herself appeared to him in all her glory, and thus spoke to him : " Imperial priests and sacrilegious pontiffs have already sought my mortal remains : but their eyes were opened in obscurity, and their hands have lost their way in the darkness, for God 214 HISTORY OF THE POPES. had decided that it should be reserved for you alone to find my body/"' On speaking to him these words she ponited with her hand to a spot in the cemetery of Pretextatus and dis- appeared. Pascal woke at the same moment, and in- formed tire priests of this miraculous vision ; he then went with his cleigy to the place in- dicated ; he himself took a spade, dug up the earth, and discovered the body of the saint clothed in a robe of tissue of gold ; at her feet were linen rags freshly impregnated with her blood, and by her side the bones of Valerian her husband. The pope caused these precious relics to be placed in a shrine glittering with precious stones, and to be solemnly trans- ported into the church which he had founded in honour of St. Cecilia. Ever since this miraculous discovery, the offerings of the faithful and the presents of pilgrims made the new church overflow with wealth, and augmented the riches of the holy father. The same mii-acle frequently renewed by the successors of the pontiff, has always en- countered simple and credu]oi>s men. '•This first success," says an old author, '■ induced the holy father to fabricate saints for the purpose of selling their bones to all Christendom, and this traffic brought him in large sums of money." The writer might have added that this abominable traffic ex- tended itself promptly among the monks, who created thousands of saints and kept an open maiket for the sale of the bones of apostles and martyrs, the wood of the true cross, of the hair of the secret parts of St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist, the Virgin &c. And we should add, that in after ages, during the reign of St. Louis, the priests had the audacity to sell to the duke of Anjou, the brother of the king — abomination anti sacrilege ! ! — the fore- skin of Jesus Christ — and to expose it in a church to the adoration of the faithful. Whilst the sovereign pontiff was occupied in increasing the treasures of the Holy See, the Mussulmen- laboured to augment the extent of their empire, and used the rapidity of their conquests as an undeniable proof of the su- periorhy of their faith over that of the Chris- tians. The emperor Leo, imagining that the idolatry of his subjects was the sole cause of their continual defeats, instead of employing his energies in combating the Arabs, was en- gaged exclusively in a war against the im- ages. For this purpose he united with him- self the bitter enemies of image worship, John Hylas and the monk Anthorus, who oc- cupied themselves in ransacking and collect- ing all the books which treated of the subject of images. The inquiry having terminated, the two fathers declared to the prince that it was incontestably proven, that the pretended pretext, which compelled Christians to adore the representations of sacred things was no- where found written. Leo called in the pa- triarch Nicephorus, and ordered him to de- clare himself against the worship of images, and on his refusal to obey, he threatened to cause all the statues which adorned the churches to be broken, as well as all the paintings which ornamented the walls. The prelate persisting in his resistance, the ex- ecution soon followed the threat. Not only did Leo destroy the statues and paintings which adorned the churches, but even per- secuted the faithful who were suspected of the crime of image worship. The patriarch, Nicephorus, was exiled, and his See given to the ignorant Theodosius, who endeavoured to maintain the orders of the sovereign, by em- ploying in their turn corruption and intmrida- tion. Theodosius then convoked in council the most headlong Iconolastic bishops and ful- minated with them terrible anathemas against their enemies. Some being called on to judge some bishops who from simplicity or igno- rance, followed the errors of the court of Rome, allowed themselves to be transported, so far as to strike them in full assembly with their feet and hands, and even with the wood of their crosses. The fury of proselytism pushed them on to decree that all citizens who should only be suspected of image worship, should have their tongues cut off and their eyes torn out. The orthodox resisted the persecutions, and waited patiently until the death of Leo should enable them to use reprisals. At this time, Lothaire, the oldest son of the emperor Louis, having come to Rome to be consecrated by the pontiff, was scandalized by all the disorders which existed in the holy city, and particularly in the palace of the pope, which resembled a lupanar in those evil cities destroyed in former times by fire from heaven. He addressed severe remonstrances to Pascal, and threatened him in the name of the em- peror his father, to hand over an examination of his actions to a council. The pontifl' pro- mised to amend his morals ; but as soon as the young prince quitted Italy, he arrested Theo- dore, the primiciary of the Roman church, and Leo, the nomenclator, two venerable priests, whom he accused of having injured him to the young prince. He caused them to be conducted to the palace of the Lateran, and their eyes to be put out, and their tongues dragged out in his own presence ; he then handed them over to the executioner to be beheaded. The emperor Louis, having been informed of this bloody execution, sent the abbot of St. Wast, and Humphrey, lord of Coira, to make inquiries against the pope; but the wary Pas- cal had already sent two legates to the court of France, to beseech the monarch, not to credit the calumnies which represented him as the author of a crime in which he had no participation. The explanations of the em- bassadors shook the convictions of the prince ; still Louis sent his two commissioners to Rome with full powers. They had not even time to lake informa- tions as to the conduct of the pope; for on their arrival Pascal presented himself at theii palace, surrounded by all his clergy, and claimed to justify himself by oath, in full council and in their presence. The next day HISTORY OF THE POPES. 215 he assembled in the palace of the Lateran thirty-four bishops, sold to the Holy See, as well as a large number of priests, deacons, anti monks, and before this assembly swore that he was innocent of the deaths of the pri- miciary and the nomenclator. The envoys of France then demanded that the murderers should be delivered up to them ; the pontifl" refused to do so, under ihe prete.xt that the guilty were of the family of St. Peter, and that it was his duty to protect them against all the sovereigns of the world ; besides, added he, '•' Leo and Theodore were justly condemned for the crime of lese majesty." The holy father then sent a new embassy composed of John a bishop, Sergius the libra- rian, and Leo the leader of the militia, to con- vince the monarch of the sincerity of his pro- tests. The emperor Louis did not judge it opportune, for the dignity of the church, to push his investigations and researches any further, fearing to find himself forced, in order to punish a crime, to deliver up to the e.vecu- tioner the head of an assassin pontiff. On their return to Rome the legates found Pascal dangerously sick. He died on the 1 1th of May, 824, after a reign of seven years and three months, and was interred in the cemetery of St. Praxedes, the Romans op- posing his inhumation in the cathedral of St. Peter. Pascal has since been placed among the saints, and the church yearly honors his memory on the 14th of IVIay. EUGENIUS THE SECOND, ONE HUNDRED AND THIRD POPE. [A. D. 824.] Election of Eugcnius the Second — Journey of Lothaire to Rome — He compels the pope to restore the riches stolen from the citizens by his predecessors — Constitutions of Lothaire — He re- presses the avarice and ambition of the pontiffs — Letter of the emperor Michael on the supersti- tions of images — The French bishops, assembled in council, reject the icorship of images and refuse to submit to the authority of the popes — Disorders and profound ignorance of the clergy — Council of Rome — Death of the pontiff. After the death of Pascal the Romans were divided into two factions, and proclaimed two pontiffs. A priest named Zinzinus had on his side the nobles, the magistrates, and the clergy: Eugenj.us, his competitor, presented himself as the chosen of the people. This second faction was the most powerful, and Zinzinus was compelled to abdicate the pa- pacy, and yield his place to Eugenius, who seated himself on the throne of St. Peter. The new pontiff was a Roman by birth, and the son of Bohemond. Anastasius, the libra- rian, says formally, that the simplicity, hu- mility, and good morals of Eugenius, recom- mer.ded him very much. After his ordination, his holiness informed the emperor Louis of the sedition which had broken out at Rome of his election, and be- sought him to punish the guilty. The empe- ror sent Lothaire to obtain an exact account of the whole affair, and to accompany him, the venerable Hildwyn, abbot of St. Denis, and archchaplain. The prince, on his arrival in the Holy City, having caused it to be announced that he would hear all the complaints of citizi-ns, en- tire families cast themselves at his feet, de- manding justice against the Holy See, and Lothaire was enabled to judge for himself how many unjust coinleninations the un- worthy predecessors of Eugenius had made for the sole purpose of seizing upon the riches of the people. He ordered the holy father to restore to families the lands and t^jrritories which had been unjustly confiscated, and in order to prevent new abuses, he published the following decree before the people as- sembled in the cathedral of St. Peter. •'It is prohibited, under penalty of death, to injure those w ho are placed under the spe- cial protection of the emperor. " Pontiffs, dukes, and judges shall render to the people an equitable justice. No man, free or slave, shall impede the exercise of the right of election of the chiefs of the church, which appertains to the Romans, by the old concessions made to them by our fathers. "We will, that commissioners be appointed by the pope to advise us each year, in what manner justice has been rendered to the citi- zens, and how the present constitution shall have been observed. We will also, that it should be asked of the Roman? under what law they wish to live, in order that they may be judged according to the law which they shall have adopted, which shall be granted to them by our imperial authority. '•Finally, we order all the dignitaries of the state to come into our presence, and to take to us the oath of fidelity in these terms, ' I swear to be faithful to tire emperors Louis and Lothaire, notwitlhstanding the fidelity I have promised to the Holy See j and I engtige not to permit a pope to be uncanonically chosen, nor to be consecrated until he has renewed before the commissioners of the sovereigns, the oath which is now framed by the pontifl" actually reigning, Eugenius the Second.-' Aventin affirms that this constitution re-es- tablished tranquillity in Rome, and jut an end to the disorders which had arisen in all Italy, 216 HISTORY OF THE POPES. through " the ambition, the avarice, and the knaveries and cruekies of the popes." On his return to France, Lothaire found embassadors from the emperor Michael, sur- named the Stammerer, instructed to inform him of the victory which he had gained over the usurper Thomas, and the happy termi- nation of the civil wars which had desolated the empire. The Greek envoys placed in the hands of Louis letters from their court in re- lation to the worship of images, which was yet the great religious question. "We inform you, wrote Michael, that a great number of priests and monks, at the in- stigation of the bishop of Rome, wander from apostolical traditions, and introduce con- demnable novelties into the Christian wor- ship. They take the crosses from the churches and replace them by images, before which they light lamps and burn incense. The devo- tees, and simple, envelope these idols in linen and take them as God-parents for their chil- dren ; they offer them the first hair of the newly born, and prostrate themselves before them, singing canticles and imploring their aid. " Priests, in their fanaticism, scratch the co- lours from the pictures, and mix these profane matters with the wine of the eucharist, which they administer to the faithful. Some eccle- siastics deposit the consecrated bread be- tween the hands of the statues of stone, and then make the communicants take it from the idols themselves ■ some monks dare to cele- brate the divine mysteries on planks bedaubed with figures of saints, and they call these altars privileged tables. "To remedy this abuse, the orthodox empe- ror and our bishops assembled a council to decide that images should be placed in the churches at a proper height, to hinder fanatics from lighting lamps in their honou r ; or offering to them incense, or burning hair. But the priests, whom this condemnable superstition enriches, have been unwilling to recognize the authorities of our synods, and have appealed to the See of Rome and the pontitTs, in hopes of dividing with them the offerings of the faithful, have ranged themselves on their side, and calumniated the Greek church. "We disdain to refute the infamous false- hoods of the bishops of Rome, and only de- clare to you our orthotlox faith. We confess the Trinity of God in three persons, the incar- nation of the Word, his two wills, and his two operations. We ask, in our prayers, the inter- cession of the Holy Virgin, mother of God, and of all the saints, and we honour their relics ; we recognize the authority of the apostolical tra- ditions and the ordinances of the six general councils; finall}', notwithstanding our just in- dignation against the court of Rome, we con- sent to recognize its supremacy over the other churches. We even send to Pope Eugenius a Bible, a perfumed box, and a chalice adorned with gold and precious stones, to be offered to the church of St. Peter by our embassadors, whom we beseech you to allow to accompany you to Rome." The emperor Louis caused them to be con- ducted into Italy by a numerous escort, in which was found Fortunatus, patriarch of Grada, who should have been judged by the pontifl', for the debaucheries which had caused him to be driven from his See by the Venetians and Greeks. During the sojourn of the envoys of Mi- chael, the French bishops, Freculph and Ag- daire, demanded from the holy father, in the name of Louis, authority to assemble a coun- cil in Gaul to examine the question of the images. Eugenius, not daring to refuse them his consent, they hastened to advise the em- peror of it, who ordered the bishops of his kingdom to assemble at Paris, on the 1st of November of the following year, (826.) In this assembly they took cognizance of the letter addressed by Pope Adrian to Prince Constantine and his mother, the empress Irene. They blamed the pontifi' for having ordered the Greeks to adore the images ; they rejected the council of Nice, and the synod of the image worshippers, as being both sacrile- gious cabals. They approved of the dogmas taught in the Carolin books, and called the replies which Adrian had addressed to Char- lemagne on his capitularies, impious. Finally, when the discussions were finished, Amilarius and Halitgar, bishop of Cambray, were instructed to carry to Louis, in the name of the assembly, the following letter: " Illus- trious emperor — Your father, having read the proceedings of the synod of Nice, found in them several condemnable things ; he ad- dressed judicious observations on them to the pope Adrian, in order that the pontiff might censure, by his authority, the errors of his predecessors; but the latter, favouring those who sustained the superstition of the images, instead of obeying the orders of the prince, protected the image worshippers. " Thus, notwithstanding the respect due to the Holy See, we are forced to recognize, that in this gi'ave question it is entirely in error, and that the explanations which it has given of the holy books, are opposed to the truth, and destructive of the purity of the faith. "We know how much you will suffer at seeing that the Roman pontiffs, those powers of the earth, have wandered from divine truth, and have fallen into error; still we will not allow ourselves to be stopped by this con- sideration, since it concerns the salvation of our brethren. " We beseech you then, 0 prince ! to address severe reprimands to the churches of Rome and Constantinople, that the scandal of the double heresy of the adoration and contempt of images may fall upon them ; for it is by loudly condemning image breakers and image worshippers that you will restore orthodoxy, and assure the safety of the people." Thus the Christians of Gaul not only re- jected the dogma of the infallibility of the popes, whilst two very religious emperors, Charlemagne and Louis, and a great number of prelates, recognized that the Holy See was entirely deceived in the question of images; HISTORY OF THE POPES, 217 but even refused to submit to the decrees of an universal synod, which had nevertheless been approved of by the pope, and at which his legates had assisted. The Protestants logically deduce from it this consequence : " If princes, bishops and councils could reject the worship of images as a super- stitious and idolatrous practice, without being heretics, and without incurring excommunica- tion, we may now fully follow this example; for that which is once permitted by religious dogmas, should be the guide of the future; divine laws not being enabled to be reformed as political are, by the caprices of man." The disorders and debaucheries of the clergy in this age of darkness, had entirely destroyed ecclesiastical discipline ; the cor- ruptions of morals was frightful, especially in the convents of the monks and nuns. Eugenius the Second undertook to reform the abuses, and convoked a synod of all the pre- lates of Italy. Sixty bishops, eighteen priests and a great number of clerks and monks as- sembled, by the orders of the holy father. This assembly brought together all the ablest pre- lates of Italy ; their ignorance was, however, so profound, that they were obliged to copy the preface of the proceedings of a council held by Gregory the Second, to serve them as an ini- tiatory discourse. The following are their decrees : " Schools shall be established in the bishoprics, parishes, and other places, where they shall be recognized as indispensable. Cloisters shall be erected near to cathedrals, and it shall be enjoined on clerks to study there, and live there, in common, under the direction of a superior, named by the bishop of the diocese. '•' Curates shall not be intrusted with the charge of a parish, but with the consent of the people ; and priests shall only be ordained for a single rank, in order not to be obliged to re- main in secular houses, freed from all in- spection of their chiefs. " Ecclesiastics are prohibited from engaging in money-lending, hunting, or the labours of agriculture. They shall always appear in public, clothed in their sacerdotal habits, that they may be always ready to perform the functions of their ministry, and that they may not be exposed to the insults of seculars, who might treat them with contempt when clothed in the garments of the laity. Prelates are expressly prohibited from turning to their own profit the property of the churches, and from levying imposts upon their dioceses; they are, nevertheless, per- mitted to accept the offerings of the faithful, in order to augment the riches of the church. '■ Ecclesiastics should be exempt from ap- pearing ia courts of justice, unless their testi- mony should be absolutely necessary. In the proceedings in which they are engaged, they shall be represented by advocates engaged to defend them, except in criminal accusations, when they are authorized to appear in person if the interest of the cause demands it." Eugenius the Second died soon after having presided over this synod ; he was interred at St. Peter's on the 27th of August, 827. Ecclesiastical authors affirm that the pon- tiff himself distributed aid to the sick, to wi- dows, and orphans. In fact, the extreme care which he took, during the three years of his reign to provision Rome with com from Sicily, caused him to be surnamed the Father of the Poor, a title until then disdained by his proud predecessors. The decrees made by the last council, and which were inspired by a great spirit of wis- dom, unfortunately had not the power to re- form the corrupt morals of the priests, nor to excite them to study. The clergy changed none of their vicious habits, and remained plunged, as before, in an ignorance so pro- found, that those were quoted as the best in- formed among the bishops who knew how to baptize according to the rules, who could ex- plain the pater and the credo in the vulgar tongue, and who possessed a key to the ca- lendar of the church. As to the other ecclesiastics, they were unable to distinguish the names of angels from those of devils, and solemnly invoked, in the litany, the names of Uriel, Raguel, To- biel, Inias, Zubinac, Sabaoc, and Simill, all pronounced spirits of darkness by the pontiff Zachary. In the churches, on Christmas day, they announced to the faithful that the Word had entered the world through the ear of the Holy Virgin, and on Holy Friday that he had gone to Heaven through a gilt door. Almost all the priests were anthromorphites, that is, they believed that God was corporeal ; they knew neither the creed of the apostles, nor that of the mass, nor that of Saint Athanasius, nor even the Lord's Prayer. VALENTINE, THE ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTH POPE. [A. D. 827.] Origin of Valentine — His education — Opinion of historians on his election — Eulogium on him — His death. Valentine, a Roman by birth, was the son I him sub-deacon as a reward for his assiduity of a citizen named Peter. He had been in his studies. Eugenius the Second, then at- brought up in the palace of the Lateran, and tached him to his person, and exhibited for the pontiff. Pascal the First, had ordained 1 him so lively an affection, that the Romans Vol. I ' 2 C 218 HISTORY OF THE POPES. affirmed that the pontiff was the true father of Valentine. He consecrated him archdea- con, gave him absolute authority over all the ecclesiastics of his court, and heaped upon him riches and favour. The bishops, jealous of the power of the favourite, spread infamous stories about him, accusing him of having criminal relations with the pope. The influence of Valentine was neverthe- less so great, that after the death of his pro- tector, he was elevated to the Holy See by the suffrages of the clergy, the grandees, and the people. Some authors affirm that his election was not exempt from the intrigues employed at all times by ecclesiastics who coveted the tiara. • They cite in support of their asser- tion, that the priests who elected Valentine chief of the church, feared so much lest an- other pope should be proclaimed by those of an opposite faction, that they hastened to en- throne him before having even consecrated him, an action contrary to all the customs of the church; and that they conferred the episcopate upon a deacon before having or- dained him priest. Others maintain, on the other hand, that the new pontiff opposed his own election with all his power, and that they were obliged to remove him by force from the church of St. Comus and St. Damian, where he had concealed himself, in order to avoid the high dignity to which he had been promoted. Anastasius, the librarian, thus expresses himself in relation to this pontiff: "His youth did not resemble that of other priests ; far from seeking out pleasures and play, he avoided dissipation, and retired into solitude, in order to abandon himself entirely to the study of wisdom and religion. Thus he be- came the model which mothers offered to the consideration of their children, and he ac- quired a reputation for holiness among the faithful of Rome." Elevated to the chair of the apostle, where he appeared but for a moment, Valentine ex- hibited to the faithful the admirable virtues of Christianity united to a spirit of tolerance ; but death, which respects neither merit, dignity nor greatness, soon struck him, and the church lost one of its best pontiffs on the 10th of October, 827, after a reign of five weeks. GREGORY THE FOURTH, ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH POPE. Election of Gregory — Violent dispute between the pope and the monks of the Convent of Farsa — The commissioners of Louis condemn the pope to restore the property usurped by the Holy See — Revolt of the children of Louis — Gregory betrays him — Louis is deposed and shut up in a monastery — Generosity of the king to the Roman church — Death of Gregory. Gregory was a Roman by birth, and the son of a patrician named John. The pontiff Pas- cal had conferred on him the sub-deaconate and the priesthood. Platinus relates, that after the death of Valentine, the deacon Gregory, elevated to the throne of St. Peter by the unanimous suffra- ges of the clergy and the people, at first re- fused this high dignity. Papebroch affirms, on the other hand, that Gregory, of a low and perfidious character, was supposed to have has- tened the death of his predecessor, and only obtained the See by intrigue and violence. "The Romans," says this historian, "did not wish to consent to his ordination through fear of offending the emperor Louis, and they sent embassadors to the monarch, to beseech him to name commissioners who should be in- structed to examine into the validity of the election. When the French envoys came to the holy city, the politic Gregory loaded them with presents, bought their friendship and ob- tained a confirmation of his title to the pope- dom. He was consecrated in their presence on the eve of the Epiphany, in the church of St. Peter. Nevertheless, the emperor, some time after, enlightened by the reports of his ministers, as to the conduct of the pontiff, wrote him a severe letter, and threatened to depose him if he did not repair the scandal of his election by exemplary conduct." From that time Gregory vowed an implaca- ble hatred to the prince, the effects of which we shall see in the latter years of his reign. He first occupied himself by repairing the churches of Rome which had fallen into ruins ; he built numerous monasteries, which he en- dowed with immense wealth torn from the people by the sword of kings or the knavery of priests. He then transported into one of the galleries of the church of St. Peter, the body of Gregory the Great , he placed it under the altar of an oratory dedicated to thai' saint, and of which the niche was of Mosaic upon a basis of gold. The fete of this pontiff' was celebrated every yearin thischapel, and during the ceremony the faithful kissed the pallium, the reliquary, and the girdle with which he had been buried. The bodies of Saint Sebas- tian and St. Tiberius w^ere deposited in the same oratory. Gregory the Fourth rebuilt the church of St. Mark and decorated it magnificently; he placed on the high altar a tabernacle of silver weighing a thousand pounds, and transported into" the sanctuary the body of St. Hermer. Before the inhumation of the saint he cut off one of his fingers, which he sent as a present to Eginhard, the old secretary of Charlemagne. Still the care which he took to reconstruct temples which were in ruins, did not hinder him from extendmg his solicitude to temporal HISTORY OF THE POPES, 219 affairs ; he rebuilt the walls of Ostia and for- tiried the port which had been dismantled by the Saracens, in their incursions on the islands or shores adjoining the mouth of the Tiber. This city was surrounded by high walls, de- fended by bastions and deep ditches; he shut it up by immense gales furnished with port- cullises, and placed upon the walls a species of catapulta to hurl stones, and formidable machines designed to repel the attacks of the enemy. The new city was named Gregorio- polis. During the sojourn of the commissioners of the emperor in Rome, Ingoalde, abbot of Far- sa, brought to them a letter from Louis, which commanded them to examine with impar- tiality, the complaints brought against Popes Adrian and Leo, who were accused by the abbot of the monastery of St. Mary, of having seized upon five domains of great extent be- longing to his convent. Ingoalde pressed upon the embassadors the steps which had been already taken during the pontificates of Stephen, Pascal and Eugenius, and represented to them, that not having been able to obtain justice he had finally appealed to the emperor. The commissioners advised the pope of the orders they had received, and summoned him to be represented before their tribunal. An advocate was immediately sent from Rome to present the defence of the Holy See ; he re- jected the claim of Ingoalde as derogatory to the dignity of the pope, and solemnly affirmed in the name of Gregory, that the property in dispute had never belonged to the mon- astery of St. Mary. The abbot rising from his seat, called the pontifi' and his defender sa- crilegious and liars ; he showed the titles of the donations which had been made to his convent by King Didier, and which had been confirmed by Charlemagne. Upon proof so authentic, the commission- ers were obliged to condemn the court of Rome to restore the property which it had unjustly seized ; but the lawyer refused to submit to their decision, and the pope, ap- proving of this resistance, declared that he himself would go to France to break down the judgment of the commissioners. Notwith- standing this declaration, the prince ordered that the judgment pronounced against the Holy See should be e.vecuted without delay. Ingoalde was put in possession of the terri- tories, and the deed which conferred them upon him was deposited in the archives of Farsa, in confirmation of the rights of the monastery. Gregory had already sworn an implacable hatreii to Louis, on account of the menaces which he had addres.sed to him on his elec- tion ; this last affair transported him with fury, and he no longer kept any guard over his conduct towards the monarch. He first excited the children ag-ainst the father; then, when Lothaire was in full revolt, he came into France to aid the cause of the prince, and to insure the success of the rebellion, by placing the guilty sons under the protection of the church. The Chronicle of St. Denis, in speaking of these events, affirms '-thai the demons of hell animated all the children of Louis, and that Satan himself came in the person of the bishop of Rome, under the charitable pretext, as if he wished to re-establish peace between the em- peror and his children, but in reality to ex- communicate the monarch and the bishops who opposed the execrable wishes of these unnatural children." As soon as Gregory had passed the Alp.?, the prelates who remained faithful to the un- fortunate Louis, wrote to him to compel him to leave France. They recalled to his recol- lection the oaths which he had made to the monarch; they reproached him with the trea- son of which he was guilty in coming to trouble his kingdom, and mix himself up in the af- fairs of state, which were not within his com- petency ; and declared that if he should under- take to lay an interdict on them, they would return against him the excommunications and anathemas, and would solemnly depose him from his sacred functions. The pontiff, alarmed at this formidable op- position resolved to quit France, and was al- ready preparing to return to Rome, when two monks, creatures of Lothaire, placed before him the passages from the fathers, and the canons of the Italian councils, which declared him to be the supreme judge of all Christians. Then pride triumphed over fear, and his bold- ness no longer knew any bounds. He dared to write to the bishops of the emperor's party a letter in which he elevates the power of the Holy See above thrones, and maintains that those who have been baptized, no matter what their rank, owe to him entire obedience. "If I have sworn obedience to the king, I cannot better fulfil my oath than by restoring peace to the state; and you cannot accuse me of per- jury, who are yourselves guilty of that crime towards me." On his side, Lothaire spread abroad procla- mations against his father, but in terms less vehement than those of the sovereign pontiff; he only wished, he assured the world, to pun- ish the evil counsellors by whom his father was surrounded and to prevent the tranquillity of the kingdom from being compromised by their senseless advice. Under pretext of designating to the emperor the men whom he should exile from his court, Gregory went to the camp of the emperor to re-establish concord, according to the ma.\- ims of the gospel, between the father and his children. He remained several days with the emperor, and whilst making protestations to him of unutterable devotion, he was assur- ing himself of the defection of the troops by presents, promi-ses, or threats; and on the very night of his departure, all, the soldiers went over to the camp of Lothaire. The next day, Louis having been informed of this odious treason, perceived that he could no longer resist the criminal projects of bis ^ sons; he called together the faithful servants who remained about his person, went to the camp of the princes and delivered himself 220 HISTORY OF THE POPES. into their hands. The plain on which these events occurred lies between Basle and Stras- burg; since that time it has been called "the plain of falsehood," in remembrance of the infamy of the pontiff. Louis was received by his children with great demonstrations of respect ; shortly after- wards, however, he was separated from Ju- dith, his wife, who was intrusted to the guar- dianship of Louis, king of Bavaria; then, at the instigation of Gregory, they declared him a prisoner, and deprived of the imperial dig- nity. He was then despoiled of his royal orna- ments, clothed in the garb of a public penitent, and constrained in the presence of an immense multitude, to confess with a loud voice, crimes that he had never committed. Lothaire con- fined him in the monastery of St. Medard, at Soissons, seized upon the sovereign authority, and caused the clergy, the lords, and the army to take an oath of allegiance to him as empe- ror of the West and king of France. After having directed and consecrated this infamous usurpation, the pope returned in tri- umph into Italy. But the authority of the children of Louis was not of long duration ; the people, indignant at the conduct of Lo- thaire, revolted against him and re-established the emperor upon the throne. In his turn, Louis resolved to be revenged on the pontiff, and sent immediately to Rome, St. Anscairus, the metropohtan of Hamburg, accompanied by the prelates of Soissons and Strasburg, and the count Gerald, for the purpose of interro- gating the holy father as to the part which he had taken in the conspiracy of the French princes. Gregory protested, on oath, the purity of his intentions, renewed the assurances of his de- votion to the person of the king, pledged him- self to aid him against his sons, and loaded with presents the envoys of France. The weak Louis consented to forget the past ; he pardoned his children, and even carried his indulgence so far as to interpose his authority to protect the Holy See against his son Lo- thaire, who, furious at the new treason of the pope, had ordered his officers to treat with great severity the priests of the Roman church, and even the holy father himself. Louis thus wrote to his son: "Recollect prince, that in bestowing on you the kingdom of Italy, I have recommended to you to have the greatest respect for the holy Roman church, and that you have sworn to defend it against its enemies, and not to leave it exposed to the outrages of strangers. Put an end then to the violence of your soldiery against the clergy of Rome. I command you to prepare food and lodging for my retinue and myself; for I am about to make a pilgrimage to the tomb of the apostles, and I hope that by the time of my arrival in the holy city all complaints against your troops will have ceased." The noble and generous conduct of Louis in this matter, serves to blacken for ever the memory of the execrable pontiff, who used religion as a plea to arm children against their father ! This cowardly, knavish, perfidous, and sacri- legious priest, destitute of principles and faith, occupied the chair of St. Peter for sixteen years. He at last died in the beginning of the year 844. SERGIUS THE SECOND, THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH POPE. [A. D. 844.J History of Sergius, surnamed the Hog^s Snout — Troubles caused by the election of Scrgius — Journey of King Louis to Rome — Boldness of the pontiff — His election is confirmed — He and his brother publicly sell the offices of the church — The Roman people take the oath of fidelity to the emperor — Louis is crowned king of the Lombards — The rape of the beautifid Ermengarde, daughter of Lothaire — Division between the emperor and his brothers — Council of Paris — Nomenoes seizes upon the sovereignty of Brittany — Incursions of the Saracens into Italy — Miracle of Monte Cassino — Death of Sergius. Sergius was a Roman by birth. He had lost his father at a very early age. His mo- ther took great pains with his education. Un- fortunately she was carried off by an epidemic, and the young Sergius remained an orphan. Pope Leo the Third admitted him into the school of the chanters, where he distinguished himself by his rapid progress and his great aptitude for work. His protector, having taken him into his favour, made him an acolyte ; Stephen the Fourth then made him a sub- deacon, and Pascal the First, ordained him a priest of the order of St. Sylvester; finally, Gregory the Fourth made him an archpriest. On the death of this pontiff, the lords and the people assembled together to choose his successor. But the number of those ambitious of the office was so great, that parties were undecided and did not choose any of the com- petitors. The brother of Sergius, skilfully availing himself of the disposition of their minds, spread the name of the archpriest among the people, and his partizans pro- claimed that Sergius was alone worthy of the tiara. The voters, thus taken by surprise, immediately gave their suffrages to the happy Sergius. A deacon named John, also intrigued for the chair of St. Peter; furious at having failed in his projects, he put himself at the head of HISTORY OF THE POPES. 221 soldiers and forced the gates of the palace to proceed to a new election. The prelates and the people precipitated themselves on these disorganizers in the patriarchal residence; they dragged the deacon from the church ih which he had taken refuge, drove off his par- tizans, and finally, when the tumult was ap- peased, the citizens of Rome went to the church of St. Martin, which was the residence of Sergius. He was conducted with great honours to the palace of the Lateran ; an im- mense crowd of priests and monks followed him, singing sacred hymns, and on the same day he was solemnly consecrated and en- throned in the presence of the people. Anastasius relates, that during the night succeeding this important ceremony " there fell so great a quantity of snow, that the holy city appeared on the next day to be clothed in a spotless robe, as a sign of rejoicing, and a favourable presage for the new reign." Before his election the pope called himself Os Porci, Hog's Snout. After the consecration he changed this ridiculous name, and took that of Sergius. To this circumstance is at- tributed the origin of the usage which is still pre.served by the popes, of choosing a new name on mounting the Holy See. The deacon John, as a punishment for his revolt, had been confined in a close prison ; the magistrates charged to judge him wished to send him into exile ; the clergy, always more severe than other men. thought this pun- ishment too light, and asked that his eyes and tongue should be torn out. Sergius opposed all these cruel measures, restored his prisoner to liberty, and re-instated him in hisdiaconate. In the midst of these disorders, the new pon- tifi", urged to receive consecration, was unable to wait for the consent of Lothaire to his ordi- nation : the emperor, irritated by this act of disobedience, resolved to send to Rome his eld- est son Louis, accompanied by his uncle, Dro- gon, bishop of Metz, to testify his discontent with the Holy See, and to prevent the future consecration of popes without his authority. Before his departure, the young Louis was declared king of Italy, and Lothaire gave him a magnificent retinue to accompany him into his kingdom. As soon as Sergius heard of the arrival of the prince, he sent to meet him the magistrates of Rome, the children of the schools, the companies of the militia with their leaders, all thundering forth songs in linnour of the young sovereign, and bearing cios.sesand banners at the head of the proces- sion, as was practisetl in the reception of the emperors. Louis traversed the holy city in the midst of an immense escort, and advanced towards the porch of the church of St. Peter, wnere stood the pontiff Sergius, surrounded by his clergy and clothed with ornaments glittering with gold and precious stones. When the king had mounted the steps of the church, the two sovereigns embraced, and both entered the court of honour, holding each other by the hand. At a signal of the holy father, the inner gates, which were of massive silver, closed as if of their own accord ; then Sergius, turning towards the prince, said to him, " My Lord, if you come hither with a sincere desire to contribute with all your efibrts to the safety of the state and church, I will cause the sacred gates to open ; but if not; you shall not enter the temple of the apostles."' Still, notwithstanding the pacific assurances of the young monarch, the soldiers of his es- cort, encamped around the city, had orders to ravage the country, to punish the Romans for having ordained a pope without waiting for the arrival of the commissioners of the em- peror. The French prelates and lords even assembled to examine if the election of Sergius was regular, and if they should drive from the pontifical throne the audacious archpriest. This assembly, composed of twenty-three bishops, and a great number of abbots and lords, was so indignant at the intrigTies and machinations of the holy father, that Angil- bert, metropolitan of Milan, loudly accused Sergius of having excited, by his ambition, all the disorders which desolated the holv city, and declared that he separated himself from his communion. Viguier also aflirms that during the reign of Sergius, the priests enjoyed every license. He adds, " the pope had a brother named Bene- dict, a man of a brutal character, who seized upon the ecclesiastical and political adminis- tration of the city of Rome. By his avarice he introduced disorder every where, and wore out the people by his exactions. He publicly sold the bishoprics, and he who gave the highest price obtained the preference. He at last rendered the usage of simony, so natural to the Italian clergy, that there did not exist in this corrupt province a single bishop or priest, animated by laudable motives, who did not address complaints to the emperor to put an end to this abominable traffic. "The divine Providence, wearied of these abominations, sent the scourge of the Pagans to revenge the crimes of the court of Rome. The Saracens, urged on by the hand of God, came even into the territory of the church, put to death a great number of persons, and sacked villages and castles." Such was the frightful position of Rome six months after the enthronement of Sergius. Nevertheless, the young prince, seduced by the presents and the llattery of the pontiff, confirmed his election, notwithstanding the advice of his counsellors, and only exacted that the citizens of Rome should renew their oath of fidelity to him and his father. The ceremony took place in the church of St. Peter; the Italian and French lords, the clergy, the people and the pontiff", swore before the body of the apostle, entire submission to the em- peror Lothaire and his son, after which Louis receivctl the crown at the hands of Sergius, who proclaimed him king of the Lombards. Droson, bishop of Metz, who had assisted the Holy See in this difficult affair, received as a recompense for his good offices, enor- mous sums and the title of ajrostolic vicar, with full authority over the metropolitans of 222 HISTORY OF THE POPES the churches situated beyond the Alps, and the right of assembling general councils. The discord which reigned among the chil- dren of the emperor Louis, was not extinguish- ed since his death, and the hatred broke out on the occasion of the abduction of the beau- tiful Ermengarde, the daughter of Lothaire, who was carried off by a lord named Sisalbert, a vassal of King Charles the Bald. Lothaire accused his brothers Charles and Louis the German, of having authorized the ravishment of his daughter, and threatened them with a terrible war. Louis freed himself from this accusation by oath ; Charles, on the other hand, having replied to his brother, that he did not fear his threats, all the wrath of the emperor was turned against him. To assure himself of his vengeance, Lo- thaire first undertook to re-instal upon the See of Rheims the prelate Ebbon, who had formerly been driven from his diocese on ac- count of his crimes, and had been replaced by the celebrated Hincmar. He made Ebbon promise to use the influence of religion to de- tach the people from their obedience to the king of Neustria; he was then employed in inducing the pope to pronounce the re-instal- lation of the unworthy archbishop. Sergius, obedient to the orders of the em- peror, wrote to King Charles, that he had cited thebishopsGondevand, metropolitan of Rouen, and Hincmar, to appear in the city of Treves, whither legates from the Holy See would go, to examine, in a council, into the case of the deposed prelate. The prince opposed the departure of his bishops, alleging that they were not in safety in an enemy's country, and indicated the city of Paris for a place of meet- ing. The legates having assented to this change, the synod assembled to judge the two prelates. Ebbon did not appear before the bishops, and did not even send letters to excuse his absence. The fathers then declared that they would interdict him, until he appeared before them, from all pretensions upon the diocese of Rheims, with a prohibition to at- tempt any enterprise against his successor. Ebbon,' intimidated by the sentence of the synod, detached himself entirely from the cause of Lothaire, and notwithstanding the solicitations of his sovereign, he refused to appeal to the Holy See, and lived five years longer in quiet and obscurity. The emperor having failed in his projects against the archbishop of Rheims, formed new intrigues and encouraged the revolt of Nomenoe, duke of the Bretons. This ambi- tious lord had levied an army against Charles the Bald, and was desirious of being declared king of Brittany, notwithstanding the opposi- tion of the bishops of the province, who were devoted to the king of Neustria, and refused to consecrate him. In that age of superstition and ignorance, nations regarded priests as the sole dispensers of crowns, and princes were not recognized as legitimate sovereigns, until after they had received their diadems from the hands of bishops. Lothaire, knowing the avarice of the holy father, induced the duke to send to Rome a brilliant embassy, carrying rich presents to be offered to Sergius, in ex- change for the re-establishment of the royalty of Brittany. This step of the duke was very successful; the pontiff declared his preten- sions just and legitimate, and ordered the Breton bishops to consecrate him king under penalty of deposition and anathema. The duke then assembled the prelates of his pro- vince, and by his threats forced them to exe- cute the orders of the pontiff. Thus France became a bloody arena, in which the descendants of Charlemagne dis- puted for the first rank, and rivalled each other in crimes and outrages. Italy, more unfortunate still under the tyranny of the popes, found itself abandoned defenceless to the avarice of the priests and the cruelty of the Saracens. The Moors, having remounted the Tiber, besieged Rome and spread themselves through the country; the churches of St. Peter and St. Paul w^ere pillaged, and the magnificent altar of silver which adorned the sepulchre of the apostle Peter became the prey of these barbarians. They seized upon the little city of Fondi, and after having put the men to the sword, they burned the city and led the women into captivity. Lothaire having sent troops against them, they pitched their camp near Gaeta, waited bravely for the French and routed them. This victory augmented the power of the Saracens ; they penetrated further into Italy, and directed their steps towards the convent of Monte Cassino, celebrated for the immense wealth which it contained. Arrived in the night in sight of the monastery, the Moors pitched their tents on the banks of a stream, whose ford they could easily pass, and which separated them from Monte Cassino, putting off until the next day the pillage of this rich ab- bey, in order that nothing might escape them. The monks who found themselves defence- less, at the mercy of the Arabs, expected no- thing but death. In their despair, they went with naked feet and ashes on their head to the church of St. Benedict, to pass the night in prayers and invoke the protection of their bless- ed founder. Then, by a brilliant miracle, at the moment when they thundered forth the chant of the sacred songs, the heavens were covered with clouds and there fell so abundant a rain, that the stream became a torrent, and it was impossible for their enemies on the next day to cross it ! At least thus the legend relates the miraculous deliverance of the monastery. Furious at seeing their rich prey escape them, the Saracens glutted their rage on the inhabitants of the surrounding country. They burned the farm houses, carried off the cattle, violated the women, and put to death by tor- ture all the monks whom they encountered • finally, they ravaged all Italy until the ena of the reign of Sergius. The pontiff died suddenly on the 27th of January, 847, after having occupied the Holy See for three years. He was interred at St. Peter's. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 223 In Gaul, a mendicant monk, called Golhe- scale, endeavoured to raise a new heresy, and taught the doctrine of predestination ) that is to say, that according to his view, men could not correct their errors nor their habitual sins, on account of a hidden power which led them in spile of themselves to their destruction, and because God predestinated evil as well as good from all eternity. The celebrated Raban- llaur, archbishop of Mayence, vigorously com - batted these pernicious doctrines and con- demned the heretic in several councils, re- gardless of the bonds of afTection which united them. Both had passed many years in the monastery of Fulda, of which Raban had been the director. It was from this pious retreat that the most illustrious doctors of the ninth cenjury sallied forth to spread light through Gaul, amongst others Valafrid, Strabon, and Loup de Ferrie- res. During twenty years Raban remained at the head of this celebrated community, which did not count less than two hundred and seventy monks, and caused himself to be cherished by all for his mildness, prety, spirit of concord and conciliation. Nevertheless, the love of science and of solitude^ induced him suddenly to renounce his dignity of ab- bot, and he retired to Mount St. Peter, into a little isolated dwelling, where he composed a large number of very remarkable works upon philosophy and the different branches of sa- cred and profane learning. At the age of seventy he was named archbishop of JNlay- ence. Forced, in spite of himself, to accept the burthen of the episcopate, he bore it glo- riously until his death, of which it would be difficult to assign a certain epoch. LEO THE FOURTH, THE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH POPE. [A. D. 847.] Enthronement of Leo — His pride — Knavery of the priests — Leo builds walls arovnd Rome — Defeat of the Saracens by the allies of the pope — Ceremonies used at the dedication of new cities — Foundation of Leopolis — Death of Leo — Opinions of historians in regard to him. Leo was the son of an Italian lord, named Rodoaldus ; his parents had placed him in the monastery of St. Martin, situated near to the church of St. Peter, in order that he might acquire in this pious retreat a knowledge of the sacred Scriptures. The young "religious" was recommended to Gregory the Fourth, who took him into the palace of the Lateran and ordained him a sub-deacon, attaching him to his person. Sergius the Second also conceived an affection for him ; he consecrated him a priest of the order of the Four Crowns, and loaded him with riches and honours. On the death of his protector, Leo, accord- ing to some authors, intrigued for the papacy ; according to others, he was elevated to the Holy See by an unanimous vote, and against his wishes; all agree, however, that after his election he went to the patriarchal palace, fol- lowed by a magnificent retinue, and that he presented his feet to be kissed by the clergy, nobility, and principal citizens. The Romans dared not ordain the new pontiff without the authority of Lothaire, and the Holy See re- mained vacant for two months. But the approach of the barbarians who threatened to besiege Rome a second time, determined the council of the city to wait no longer for the commissioners of the emperor, and the pope was consecrated by three bi- shop?. The first act of the holy father after his enthronement was to repair the church of St. Peter, which had been deva.stated by the Arabs. He adorned it with a cross of gold, with chalices and chandeliers of silver, with curtains and tapestries of precious stuffs ; he placed in front of the confessional or the pre- tended sepulchre, tables of gold, enriched with precious stones and adorned with paint- ings in enamel, representing his portrait and that of Lothaire. The sepulchre was sur- rounded by large frames of silver, richly worked, and all these ornaments were covered by an immense tabernacle of silver, weighing si.xteen hundred pounds. These embellishments and the revenues which he appropriated to the priests of this church, amounted to more than three thou- sand eight hundred and si.xtecn pounds weight of silver, and two hundred and si.xteen pounds of gold. In order to appreciate the outrage of the prodigalities of the pontiff towards his clergy, and the insatiable avarice of the priests of Rome, it will be enough to relate two facts of that unfortunate period. "At the council of Toulouse, held in 846, the contri- bution, which each curate was obliged to furnish to his bishop, consisted of three bu- shels of wheat, three bushels of barley, a measure of wine, and a lamb, the whole va- lued at two pennies." The second e.xample of public misery is drawn from the life of Charles the Bald. '-'The prince made an edict in 864 for a new coinage of money ; and as by this decree the old money was decried, and was no longer circulated, he or- dered that ihore should be drawn from his coffers fifty pounds of silver, to be expended in commerce." Thus we may judge into what brutality and misery kings and priests had plunged the nations, when a chalice or a perfume box of a church in Rome was almost of more value than all the circulating medium of the merchants of a creat kingdom ! 224 HISTORY OF THE POPES. We can with difficulty understand that men had descended to such an abject state, and that they should thus have allowed them- selves to be despoiled by the avarice of sove- reigns ] we would even be tempted to doubt these extraordinary facts if contemporary his- torians did not recite them with a naivete which guarantees the truth of their recitals. The chroniclers of the period attribute to the holy father the death of a terrible dragon, the terror of the holy city. This is the le- gend : "A cockatrice of more than thirty feet in length by two and a half in thickness, had retned into a cave, near the church of St. Lucius, to which no oire dare approach, as the breath of the monster caused death. The pontilF, however, went in a procession at the head of his clergy, to the cave where the cockatrice lay, and as soon as the animal heard the voice of the holy father, it died, casting forth a great quantity of flame from its mouth. . . ." This miracle did not prevent the Arabs from continuing their ravages upon the coasts of Italy, from sacking the cities and devasta- ting the country. Leo, fearing lest they should come even to Rome, and being desirous of placing the church' of St. Peter beyond the reach of a sudden attack, surrounded it with walls and bastions, and even resolved to exe- cute the plan formed by one of his predeces- sors, of building a city near to the church. He first addressed the emperor Lothaire, w ho approved of the plan of a new city, and sent large sums to hasten the building; he then assembled the notables of Rome, and con- sulted them upon the measures necessary to be taken for the execution of the work. In accoidance with their advice and the general interest, they brought in serfs from the cities and domains which belonged to the lords and the monasteries. Four entire years were employed on the foundation ; the pontiff visited the workmen daily, without being prevented by cold, wind or rain. At the same time he raised again the old walls of Rome, which had fallen into ruins, and constructed fifteen towers, two of which were placed on the banks of the Tiber, and impeded the navigation of the river by great chains. The works were not yet com- pleted when a debarkation of the Saracens took place in the island of Sardinia. On the receipt of this news, Leo, fearing to be shortly besieged by the barbarians, de- manded aid from the inhabitants of Naples, Amalli. and Gaeta. His request was acceded to, and Caesar, the son of Sergius, the leader of the Neapolitan troops, was sent to lead troops to the pontifl^ to oppose the landing of the Saracens. The holy father came to Oslia to receive his allies ; he" received the Neapo- litan leaders with great demonstrations of friendship, and gave his feet to the soldiers to kiss ; he then celebrated a solemn mass, and administered the communion to the whole army. Scarcely was the ceremony completed when the sails of the Saracens appeared on the sea ] the troops, excited to enthusiasm by this circumstance, which they regarded as a happy presage, uttered cries of joy at the sight of the vessels of the enemy ; but the holy father, less confident in celestial prodi- gies, escaped during the night, and disgrace- fully returned to Rome. At the break of day the Saracens com- menced their landing; the Neapolitans, who lay concealed behind the rocks, suffered a part of their enemies quietly to disembark, when they suddenly unmasked themselves, fell upon the Arabs and made an horrible carnage. Almost all M'ere put to the s\^ord, and a tempest having arisen at the same' mo- ment, the rest of the fleet was entirely dis- persed. Those who landed on the neigh- bouring islands were pursued by ihe Neapoli- tans ; some were hung to the trees in the forests, others were conducted to Rome^ and compelled to labour on the walls. This new re-inforcement of workmen ac- celerated the work on the church of St. Peter, and the new city was completed on the 27th of June, 849. The holy father, wishing to finish his work by an imposing ceremony, convoked all the bishops of Italy, the clergy of Rome, the grandees and the people, and at the head of an immense multitude he ap- proached the walls of the enclosure with naked feet and his forehead covered with ashes. The procession made the tour of the walls several times, singing hymns and psalms. At each station the pontiff sprinkled ihe building with holy water, and made a prayer before the gates of the city; mass was then cele- brated in the church of St. Peter, and Leo distributed rich presents to the workmen, and even to the Saracens, who had done a pait of the work. The dedication being terminated, the new city received the name of Leonine. The holy father was also engaged in forti- fying Porto, which remained exposed to the invasions of the infidel ; but whilst he was occupied with these works, a great number of Corsicans, driven from their country by the Moors, took refuge at Rome, and besous of Albert: and St. Thomas Aquinas broke it, because, as he assures us, it stunned him with the continual noise of its prophecies. Sylvester was also verv skilful in the me- chanic arts; the iuventiou of clocks with 320 HISTORY OF THE POPES. pendulums is attributed to him; he construct- ed several of them with his own hand, and particularly that of the cathedral of Magde- burg, which marked the seasons, the days, the mouths, the hours, and the lunar phases ; he made algebra a common study, and was a great lover of old books, which he sought for in Spain, Italy, Gaul, Belgium, and Germany, and even in the ancient capital of the Eastern empire. He wrote several treatises on rheto- ric and medicine, and was constantly occupied with astrology, or rather astronomy, and con- structed several spheres, which he proudly calletl his best works. Soon after his elevation to the pontifical throne, Gerbert definitely re-established Ar- nold in the archbishopric of Rheims, although that prelate had earnestly pursued him, and compelled him to take refuge in France. This act of greatness of soul was inspired rather by skilful policy than by true generosity. In his letter to Arnold, he said to him that it was the privilege of the Supreme See to pardon guilty ecclesiastics; and that the metropolitan of Rheims, although deposed for grave sub- jects, yet not having been condemned by the court of Rome, could be rejTiaced in his former condition, through the goodness of Sylvester. This pontiff augmented prodigiously the domains of the church ; he received from Otho the Third, his old pupil, the city of Ver- ceil, the country which was dependant on it, and the country of Saint-Agatha, with the right of government and justice in these pro- vinces. On his entreaty, the emperor con- firmed the privileges which had been granted to the chair of St. Peter, by Pepin, Charle- magne, and Louis the Good Natured. It was at the commencement of his reign, that Sylvester granted to St. Stephen, king of Hungary, the royal crown, with the privilege of transmitting it to all his successors ; he even wished the cross to be borne before the prince, and narneci him as his perpetual legate to re- ward him for his apostolic conduct in convert- ing the greatest part of his people to the Chris- tian faith. Otho was then in Poland, where he had conferred the title of king on Duke Boleslas; but he was soon recalled into Italy to combat the Romans, who had revolted against his generals. The emperor entered the country : retook Capua from the Saracens, distributed his army through the cities of Campania, and entered victorious into Rome, followed by his choicest troops. But the day after his instal- lation in the castle of St. Angelo, the people having assembled, flew to arms, and besieged him in his palace with such vigour, that he would have been forced to surrender, if Hugh, marquis of Etruria, and Henry, duke of Ba- varia, the prefects of the city, had not afforded him the means of leaving it, by parleying with the rebels. Otho, delivered from' the peril, caused all his troops to advance, invaded Rome a second time, and punished the authors of the sedition, with extreme rigour. The prince died some time after these events, having been poisoned by the widow of Cresceu- tius, whose daughter he had violated. The pope Sylvester was with him in his last mo- ments. At the beginning of the following year, (1001,) Bernard, bishop of Hildesheim came to ask for justice from Gerbert, against the metropolitan of his church. He complained to the pontiff that Villegisus had seized upon a convent of giils. which did not belong to his administration. This monaster}", called Gandesem, had always recognized the bishop of Hildesheim as its diocesan, until the day on which Sophia, the daughter of the em- peror Otho the Second, at the very moment of taking the veil, refused from pride to pro- nounce her vows between the hands of an ecclesiastic who did not wear the pallium. The princess exacted, that the archbishop of Mayence, should perform the ceremonies; Bernard having opposed it, the empress Theo- phania, besought him at least to permit Ville- gisus to be associated with him, and then was seen for the first time two prelates clothed in their episcopal ornaments, seated on each side of the same altar. The bishop, how- ever, demanded from the prince, who was present, if he engaged to ratify the engage- ment of his sister, although it had taken place irregularly; he summoned the princess to submit her.self to him and his successors, declaring that his metropolitan had no right.s in that church. Sophia, who regarded herself as the sister of the emperor, rather than a nun, left the monastery without the permission of the abbess, and lived at the court of Germany, where she abandoned herself to amorous in- trigues. Bernard then warned her to return to her convent ; but she, treating his remon- strances with contempt, placed herself under the protection of Villegisus, affirming that it was from him she had received the veil, and not from the prelate of Hildesheim. The scandal of her amours and accouche- ments, however, compelled the emperor to cause her to return to the abbey of Gande- sem. Furious then against the prelate whom she regarded as the author of her disgrace, she spread disorder among the nuns, and ex- cited them to revolt; and at length, on the day of a solemn dedication, they refused him permission to enter the monastery, and called upon the archbishop of Mayence to perform the ceremony. Villegisus was stopped on his journey by his sufl'ragans, who besought him not to infringe the canons of the church ; and Henry, duke of Bavaria, urged Bernard to protest at once to the emperor and the court of Rome against the pretensions of the nuns. Sylvester the Second, wishing to bring back peace to the church, assembled a council, at which all the laity and clergy who were ele- vated in dignity assisted. After the bene- diction of the holy father and the reading of the Bible, the floor was granted to Bernard, who accused his metropolitan of having held a .synod in the monastery of Gandesem, in contempt of the rules which placed the nuns under his jurisdiction. The pontiff demanded HISTORY OF THE POPES 321 from the assembly, if they could consider as recrular, the convocation of a synod by the archbishop of Mayence in an abbey which %vas a dependancy of the bishop of Hildes- heini. The fathers all replied at once, that the synod was irregular, and that they should reject, in accordance with the canons, the decisions made by it. The pope then arose and pronounced the judgnneiit, '-By the au- thority of the apostles and fathers, we erase all that has been done by Villegisus and his accomplices, in the diocese of our brother Bernard during his absence." He gave the pastoral baton to this prelate, and said to him, " I restore to you my brother, and confirm you in the possession of Gandesem and its dependancies, and prohibit any one, be he who he may, from causing you the least trou- ble or harm." The archbishop of Mayence was written to, and a legate was named to preside over an assembly to be held in Saxony, before which that prelate was to make his defence. The council was convoked for the year 1001, and Frederick, a cardinal priest of the Roman church, a Saxon by birth, was chosen to re- present the sovereign pontiff. The cardinal went to Germany with a pompous embassy, and followed by a crowd of domestics clothed in liveries shining with gold, to show that he represented the head of Christianity. The convention assembled at Polden, on the 22d of July, 1001. Villegisus, sustained by the prelates of his party, at first excited a great uproar in the council; but the envoy of Sylvester the Second, a man of remarkable firmness, appeased the murmurs, re-estab- lished silence, and made the accused himself read the letter which the holy father had ad- dressed to him. The reading being finished, Frederick addressed the bishops who were present, asking their advice ; the metropo- litan of Hamburg declared in favour of Ber- nard, and of the decree made by the sove- reign pontiff. Scarcely had he finished speak- ing, when the doors of the church w^ere opened and the synod was entered by laymen with arms in their hands, crying out "death to the diocesan of Hildesheim, and to the envoy of the court of Rome." Notwithstanding the im- minence of the danger, neither of them was alarmed. They harangued the disturbers, and showed them numerous troops without the church who were ready to strike those who dared to draw the sword in the temple of God. This firmness arrested the factious. The sitting, however, was finished for that day. On the next day the convention assembled anew, but Villegisus did not appear, notwith- standing the formal assurance he had given the evening before; and they learned that he had left Polden during the night. The legate having summoned him several times in full council, suspended him from all ecclesiastical functions as contumacious, and ordered him to appear before the synod which was to be held in the palace of the Lateran, towards Christmas. On their side, the emperor and Vol. I. 2Q ' Gerbert, indignant at the scandal which had taken place in Polden, commanded all the bishops of Germany who had taken part in this affair, to appear before them, not only to assist at the assembly convoked by the cardi- nal Frederick, but even to bring with them at their own expense the vassals of their diocese, who should follow their sovereign to the wars. Several assemblies were still occupied with this quarrel between Villegisus and Bernard; it finished by wearing itself out, rather from the effects of time, than from the authority of the pope and councils. During the following year Sjlvester the Second convoked a synod in the palace of the Lateran, to judge another scene of scandal which took j)laco in Italy. The chancellor, according to custom, opened the session, by addressing himself to the holy father, " My lord, your abbot of St. Peter near Perouse, presents complaints to this synod against Bishop Conon, who has rendered himself guilty of violence and sacrilege by tearing him from the altar of your monastery, and by driving him from the abbey. He assures you that the buildings of the convents have been pillaged, and that the bishop has seized upon all the riches of your monks." Conon replied, " His holiness has intrusted to me the See of Perouse, and made me swear that I would not abandon its rights. This convent belongs to my diocese, and the pope cannot claim a particular privilege to examine juridically into this dispute." The fathers, however, declared that this church apper- tained to the sovereign pontiff. The prelate, to shun a more severe chastisement, consent- ed to renounce the monastery of St. Peter, in favour of the apostolical throne, and gave the kiss of peace to his accuser. Gerbert was vain, ambitious, treacherous, and cruel ; authors relate as an evidence of his cruelty, that Guy. viscount of Limoges, hav- ing been cited to the court of Rome, by Grim- oard, who accused him of having retained him a prisoner, to compel him to abantlon to him the enjoyment of the abbey of Brantome, was condemned by Sylvester to be torn in pieces by two wild horses; and he even or- dered, that before the punishment, Guy should be surrendered to the bishop of Angouleme, to undergo the torture by fire. But the latter, moved by the entreaties of Guy. consented to forsret the violence of which he had been the victim, and both fled into France to shun the resentment of the pope. After a pontificate of four years and a half, Gerbert died, at a very advanced age. His obsequies were performed with all the pomp which was due to the sovereign pontiff of the church. His elegy has been engraved upon his .'sepulchre by one of his successors. After his death, however, the accusations of mngic were renewed against him ; some chro- niclers gravely aflirm, that Sylvester brought from Seville with him an abominable book, containing cabalistic formularies, wilh which he forced Lucifer to obej- him. and the spirit of darkness promised the pontiff to guarantee 322 HISTORY OF THE POPES, him against death, until the day in which he should celebrate mass in the church of Jerusalem. Sylvester, they add, hoped to live for ever, because he had formed the re- solution never to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and continued to abandon himself to the most condemnable witchcraft of all kinds ; but he soon proved that the promises of the devil are always fallacious and per- fidious. One day when the holy father was celebrating divine service in the church of the Holy Cross, called also the church of Jerusa- lem, the devil suddenly appeared to him on the altar, and seizing the golden figure of Christ, which decorated the chapel, struck him so violent a blow with it, that he died in a few hours. Before dying, Sylvester confessed to his car- dinals that he had devoted himself to the devil ; he recommended to them to place his body upon a car drawn by white horses, and to inter it in the place at which the coursers should stop of themselves. This order was punc- tually executed, and the car having stopped before the church of the Lateran, his remains were there deposited with the accustomed pomp. For a long time after, they stated at Rome, that, on the evening of the death of the pontiffs, they heard the bones of Sylvester the Second clash in his tomb, and the stone of his sepulchre was covered with a bloody sweat. Six centuries and a half had flown by since the death of this pope, when the church of the Lateran was re-constructed. His coffin, which was of marble, was opened, and the body was found clothed in the pontifical robes ; the tiara upon the head, and the arms crossed. Sylvester appeared to be still living, and spread around an odorous perfume ; but as soon as a ray of light struck him, an infernal flame escaped from his body, and all was re- duced to ashes. There remained nothing but a cross of silver and the pastoral ring. From that time the tomb ceased to present the same prodigies. The subterranean and lugubrious noises which had frightened the faithful, were no longer heard, nor were traces of blood perceived on the marble of ihe Mau- soleum. The priests did not hesitate to ex- plain this change as an effect of sorcery, or as caused by the disappearance of the devil, who for six hundred years watched over the body of the holy father. An ecclesiastical historian, Muratori, who wrote to defend the memory of Sylvester, gravely affirms that this miracle should not surprise us, as several tombs of saints, which formerly exuded oil or manna, no longer offered in his time the same prodigies. This singular remark was made by Muratori in 1740; that is, scarcely an hundred years since. The character of the eleventh century is remarkable for a mixture of gross superstition and horrible debauchery. So great were the ignorance and depravity, that it was imagined that the reign of antichrist was approaching, and they interpreted the strange phenomena of nature as presages of the accomplishment of the words of the Apocalypse in relation to the end of the world. The auguries and sor- ceries practised even by the clergy, had re- placed the sacraments and the ecclesiastical ceremonies. Finallj', there existed neither virtue nor piety in the world ; and Berenger says, " that the church was a collection of proud, impious, and wicked men, and that the apostolic chair had become a seat for demons!" JOHN THE SEVENTEENTH, THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY- SEVENTH POPE. [A. D. 1004.] Bishop Sicco succeeds Sylvester the Second— Uncertainty as to his origin and actions— Duration of his reign — His death — The heresy of Vilgard. The bishop Sicco succeeded Sylvester the Second. The circumstances of his election remain completely unknown. We only know that he was enthroned by the name of John the Seventeenth. Platinus assures us that the family of this pontiff was in the very lowest orders of society. Father Pagi, on the other hand, affirms that it was of the most illustrious. The same uncertainty exists as to the character and actions of Sicco. Some authors maintain that he was cruel, vindictive, greedy of honours and riches; others pro- nounce a pompous eulogy upon him. It is difficult to form a correct opinion among such contradictory statements ; and the best found- ed that we can give is, that he occupied the Holy See about five months. He died at the commencement of the year 1004. During his pontificate, a monk named Leu- tard, endeavoured to pass himself off as a prophet, to seduce the simple, and extort money from them. He related, that one day, being asleep in the country, he had a miracu- lous revelation, in which he saw a flock of bees, who entered his body from the rear, and passed out by his mouth, making a great noise ; and that he Avas ordered to do things impossible to men. On awakening, he went to Chalons, assembled the people, and an- nouncing himself as inspired by God, created so powerful a party, that they wished to place him on the See of that city. But Gebouin, HISTORY OF THE POPES. 323 who -was then bishop of Chalons, demanded to be confronted with this impudent monk, who in despair precipitated himself into a well. Another fanatic, named Vilgard, gave birth to a singular heresy, which consisted in re- garding the three poets, Virgil, Horace, and Juvenal, as prophets, whose dogmas we should follow to obtain eternal life. The holy father ordered the bishops of Italy to exterminate those unfortunate fools by fire and sword, wherever they found them. JOHN THE EIGHTEENTH, THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY- EIGHTH POPE. [A. D. 1004.] Election of John the Eighteenth — Erection of the church of Bamburg into a bishopric — Council of Rome — Death of John the Eighteenth — Vacancy in the Holy See. Fasan was chosen by the clergy, the grand- ees, and the people, as the most worthy to occupy the chair of St. Peter, and he was or- dained on the 19th of March, 1004, under the name of John the Eighteenth. This pope was of Roman origin; his whole reign was passed in disgraceful effeminacy, infamy, and debauchery. The only remarkable event of his pontifi- cate, was the erection of Bamburg, or Baben- burg, in Franconia, into a bishopric. King Henry, who had for a long time desired to establish a See in this small city, built a mag- nificent church, which he enriched with all the sacred ornaments and vases necessary for divine service. As it was situated in the dio- cese of Virsburg. Henry offered to the bishop in exchange for this church and its depen- dencies, a large sum of money. The latter readily accepted the offers of the prince, and exacted besides that he should be made a metropolitan, and have for his suffragan the ecclesiastic who should be elevated to^he See of Bamburff. Henry having accepted these conditions, his chaplains, Alberic and Louis, were intrusted with obtaining from the holy father the con- firmation of his title of metropolitan. John the Eighteenth profited by this ridiculous fan- tasy of the king. He demanded one hundred pounds of gold, and two hundred pounds of silver, for the rights of the Holy See. He then convoked a council at Rome, and ordered that the new church erected into a bishoprick, should be dedicated to St. Peter, and should remain under the particular protection of the pontifical See, although submitted to the arch- bishop of Mayence, its metropolitan. Fasan died on the 18th of July, 1009, after having occupied the pontifical throne for five years and four months. At this period, the Greek clergy was not yet separated from the Latin clergy, and they continued to read at Constantinople the name of John the Eighteenth, in the sacred writ- ings, as well as that of the patriarch. The Holy See remained vacant for twenty- four days after the death of the pope. SERGIUS THE FOURTH, THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY- NINTH POPE. [A. D. 1009.] The bishop of Albano enthroned by the name of Scrsius the Fourth — His origin and character — Duration of his pontificate — His death and epitaph. Petkr, bishop of Albano, was chosen pon- tiff, and succeeded John, under the name of Sergius the Fourth. He was the son of a priest named Martin, and a Roman by birth. Pla- tinus and Ciaconius agree in representing him as a man of great piety and exemplary morals ; charitable to the poor, clement to the guilty, of a perfect goodness and extreme prudence. He turned all his thoughts towards heaven, and governed the church with integrity and wisdom : he was in fact the only priest of his time, worthy from his virtues, of occupying the throne of St. Peter. He undertook great reforms among the clergy of Rome, and had even formed a plan to drive the Arabs from Sicily, from whence these people made irrup- tions into Italy; but the short duration of his pontificate did not permit him to accom- plish designs useful to Christianity. During his reign. Libentius, archbishop of Hamburg, and Bemaire. bishop of Verden, excited a new difficulty about a parish church 324 HISTORY OF THE POPES. which this latter claimed for his diocese, and on which Libentius had seized under the pre- text, that it had served as a place of reluge for St. Anscaire, the first apostle of that country, during a persecution. St. Anscaire had in truth built an oratory in which were deposited the relics of the martyrs and the offerings of the common people rendered the possession of it very advantageous. The love of money was then the true motive for this scandalous quarrel. The metropolitan of Ham- burg, to put an end to the affair, sent as his deputy to Rome the deacon Odon, bearing rich presents for Sergius. The pope then decided the question in his favour, in honour, as he said, of the memory of St. Anscaire. The holy father finally died in 1012, after having occupied the Holy See for two years and some months, if we can beheve Sigebert, Gemblours, and Marianus Scotus. According to Ca3sar Rapson, he was interred near the oratory of St. Thomas. His epitaph informs us, that he distributed clothing and food to the poor, and that he was regarded as one of the lights of the church. BENEDICT THE EIGHTH, THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH POPE. [A. D. 1012.] The bishop of Porto chosen pope and enthroned by the name of Benedict the Eisjith — He is execrated by the Bomans — 2'he anti-pope Gregory — The faction of Benedict, at first victorious, is then driven from the city^—He takes refuge in Germany with Herny the Second — His return to Rome — Coronation of the emperor — He confirms the election of his brother Arnold to the archbishopric of Ravenna — Benedict the Eighth defeats the Saracens — Bull against the Jews — Origin of the Norman sway in Italy — Journey of the pontiff to Germany — Council of Pavia — Benedict complains of the licentious lives of the clergy — Pilgrimage of Robert, king of France, to Rome — Death of the pope. After the death of Sergius, the bishop of Porto, the son of Gregory, count of Tusculum, was chosen sovereign pontiff, by the faction of the marquisses of Tuscanella in Etruria, his relatives, who during a century had al- ready seated so many wretches on the throne of St. Peter. He took the name of Benedict the Eighth. The Romans, who execrated this pontiff, on account of his vices, conspired against his authority. A powerful party was soon formed among the clergy, who proclaim- ed another pope under the name of Gregory. Benedict, however, still remained master of the palace of the Lateran ; Gregory then courageously placed himself at the head of the people, drove the pontiff from the city, and forced him to seek refuge in Germany with Henry the Second. That prince declared against the anti-pope, threatened with his wrath the citizens who refused to recognize his protege as the sovereign pontiff, and even gave him troops who conducted him back into Lombardy. The Romans, alarmed at the pre- parations which were making for war against them, and fearful of a new invasion, deter- mined to send deputies to Benedict, to be- seech him to return to his palace of the Late- ran. Gregory was in his turn driven from the city, and left the tiara to his competitor, who seated himself anew in the chair of St. Peter. Some days after they heard the news of a victory gained by Henry over the army of a pretender to the empire, named Ardouin and the prince soon came to Rome in person to be consecrated by the pontiff. This cere- mony took place at the beginning of the year 1014. Henry entered the church, accompa- nied by twelve senators, of whom six had their beards shaved in the Roman fashion, and six wore long moustachios after the Ger- man. He held by the hand the beautiful Cunegonda, his wife. The pope waited for the procession on the threshold of the temple ; he asked the emperor if he would consent to be named defender of the church, and swear fidelity to him and his successors. Henry took the oath in a loud voice ; Benedict then permitted him to enter the sanctuary, solemnly crowned him, and suspended before the altar of St. Peter, the diadem which he wore during the ceremony. Cunegonda was also crowned ernpress. The holy father then presented to the em- peror a golden apple surrounded by two cir- cles of precious stones, which crossed each other and was surmounted by a golden cru- cifix. The apple represented the world, the cross was the symbol of religion, the precious stones portrayed the virtues of the monarch. Henry, on receiving it exclaimed, " I under- stand, holy father, that you wish to teach me how to govern my actions and my people. I accept the pledge which binds me to God and the world, and I will intrust the sacred de- posit to those who have trampled under foot the pomps of the world in order to follow the standard of Christ." He sent this precious stone to the convent of Cluny, which, at this period, was esteemed the most regular of all the monasteries, and which had been already honoured by his munificence. After the ceremony of the consecration, a sumptuous feast was prepared in the palace of the Lateran, and the pontiff entertained the ?:u \ Ii'h (■'■ hd^iur ,t If' imijjm '''■ tlu'-oiu' 'f- ^opf H^Mirbxct \ 111 . HISTORY OF THE POPES. 32T JOHN THE NINETEENTH, THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY- FIRST POPE. [A. D. 1024.] Scandalous election of John — The patriarch of Constantinople offers to sell him the title of Pope of the East — Invention of the gamut by the monk Guy of Arezzo — Letter from the famous musician — Coronation of the emperor Conrad the Second — Complaints of Canute, king of England, of the council of Limoges on the sale of absolutions — John the Nineteenth driven from Rome — Brought back by Conrad — His death. John was elevated to the Holy See by the faction of his brother Alberic, count of Tus- canella and Segni. He succeeded his brother, Benedict the Eighth, under the name of John the Nineteenth. Some authors maintain, that before being named pontilT, he aheady occu- pied the See of Porto ; but historians, whose testimony is the most entitled to credit, main- tain on the contrary that he was a mere lay- man. Thus, the freedom of election which the pious Henry had restored, served but to favour the intrigues of the Roman lords, and to consolidate the power of the patricians. As soon as this new exaltation was known at Constantinople, the patriarch sent embas- sadors to Rome to propose to the holy father to sell him the title of pope of the Greek church. The deputies, bearing rich presents. were favourably received by John, and the bargain was on the point of being concluded, when the noise of it spread abroad, and clamours rose from all parts of Christendom, which forced the pontii!' to forbear concluding such a scandal. Guy, a monk of Arezzo, lived at this period and invented the gamut ; it is related, that struck by ^le difficulties which the methods of teaching the music for religious singing presented, he imagined the notation of sounds and composed a new system of music in con- nection with Michael, a monk of Pomposia, who laboured with him in this discovery. We give a letter of the celebrated monk, in which he describes an interview he had with the pope : " I hope, he wrote to his friend, that those who shall come after us, will pray for the remission of our sins ; for they will be enabled to learn from us in a single year, that which they could not have acquired before under ten years of hard study. Pope John, who now governs the Roman church, having heard of our school, and of the manner in which our antiphonal teaches chil- dren in a few hours, chants which were un- known to them, has sent me messengers in- structed to bring me to him. I went to Rome with Gregory, the abbot of INlilan, and Peter, prevost of the canons of Arezzo, a very learned man for our times. His holiness received me joyfully, and kept me a lon^c time perusing our method, which he regarded as wonderful. The pontifi studied the rules, and was un- willing to terminate the audience, without having learned from the antiphonal a verse. which he had never heard sung. Unfortu- nately my health did not permit me to remain in Rome, because in those maritime or marshy places, the heat of the summer would have killed me. I then returned to my convent from which I shall repair at the beginning of the winter, in order to explain our work more at length to the holy father." After the death of Henry the Second, his son Conrad succeeded him, and came lo the pontifical city, in the year 1027. John the Nineteenth, in order to ingratiate himself with the monarch, went to meet him at Lake Como, and proclaimed him emperor in the church of St. Peter; the queen Gisella, his wife, was crowned empress at the same time. Rodolph, the king of Burgundy, the uncle of Gisella, assisted at this ceremony, as did also Canute, king of England and Denmark, who had come to Rome to complain of the enor- mous contributions which the Holy See levied on the pilgrims of his kingdom. The English prince also protested against the tribute which his archbishops were compelled to pay, when they asked for the pallium. Some time after a synod of French bishops was held at Limoges, who reformed the judg- ments of the pope, and prohibited the court of Rome from selling absolution to the ex- communicated to the insult of their bishops. j Eujelric. a canon of Paris, thus spoke in the convention. "You know, my brethren, that I the venerable Stephen, bishop of Clermont, had anathematized Ponce, count of Auvergne, i for having deserted his lawful wife and mar- I ried the wife of another. In his just intligna- , tion he refused to pardon this lord, until he ' amended his wrongs ; but the guilty man dared to present himself at Rome, and bought absolution from the holy father himself. When : we were advised of this act of simony, we ad- dressed strong reproaches to the pontiff. He declared to us that he had been taken by sur- ' prise, and that he would have rejected Ponce I from the church, had he known all the cir- cumstances of the afl'air. I declare then to I you, my brethren, chiefs of dioceses, that the popes have no right to oppose our decisions, and that they cannot but approve them and lend ihem the aid of their authority."' The synod was then occupied with measures to put an end to the disorders of the kingdom, lor since the reign of Louis the good-natured, the sovereign authority was no longer re- 328 HISTORY OF THE POPES, specled in the provinces wliich composed the empire of Charlemagne. In Fiance, Germany, and Italy, each lord administered justice with arms in his hands, and the dukes, marquises, and counts, made terrible wars among them- selves. Cities were abandoned to pillage, the inhabitants were mercilessly put to death ; and cultivators of the soil, citizens, merchants, and even serfs, were treated as wild beasts by the nobles and kings. The clergy themselves were no longer respected. Their riches hav- ing excited the cupidity of the lords, the mo- nasteries were sacked, the nuns violated, and the churches burned. To the disasters of these wars of extermina- tion were added the horrors of famine ; men devoured each other, and a large number of unfortunates were condemned to be burned for having eaten human flesh. During three years that the scourge lasted, the living were not sutliciently numerous to bury the dead, and they piled up the dead bodies in charnel houses. Notwithstanding these public calamities, the nobles, like hideous vultures, tore down the cities, and disputed for the dead bodies to despoil them. Finally, at the councd of Limoges, the fa- thers determined to strike a great blow, and to use even the authority of God to arrest the disorders. A solemn sitting was announced through all the provinces, and the faithful were invited to the council. At the opening of the sitting, after the usual prayers, a bishop rose and addressed the crowd, which pressed into an immense hall : '' I am about to an- nounce to you," he said, "great new.?, my brethren; Jesus Christ himself has sent me letters from heaven, to order me to re-establish peace on earth. I propose to submit them to a commission for examination, who can then inform you of the will of God." Ten bishops were designated for this important verifica- tion ; they, after having studied the letter which was presented to them, declared upon the holy host, that it was really from Jesus Christ. The council, in consequence, thereof, ordered that this letter should be sent to all the churches of Christendom, and tlrat men of all ranks should be obliged to conform to the instructions which it contained. These in- structions were ridiculous and obscene. They prohibited the faithful from having connection with their wives, except on certain days ; they recommended to them to fast on Fridays on bread and water, and to abstain from flesh on Saturdays. They prohibited them from taking up arms to avenge themselves on an enemy, or to seize upon the property of monasteries; they permitted men to play with the nuns, but not to violate them In every diocese the faithful were sworn upon the Bible, reli- giously to ob.serve these precepts, under pen- alty of excommunication, confiscation of pro- perty, and privation of sepulchral rites. Such was, according to Baudry, bishop of Noyon, the origin of the holy truce. The assembly at Limoges was also occupied by several rules to arrest the political ambition of the court of Rome, and to free the goods of the French clergy from the cupidity of the pontiff, by maintaining the liberties of the Galilean church. John the Nineteenth, by his debauchery, exactions, and tyranny, at length rendered himself so odious to the Romans, that a con- spiracy was formed against his life ; but as he never went out unless surrounded by his satel- lites, the conspirators resolved to take up arms; they assembled in the public places, excited the people and besieged the palace of the Lateran. The holy father escaped from Rome, and took refuge in Germany with Conrad the Second, who in the end, esta- blished him by force of arms, and punished the seditious. This pontiff, say the old chroniclftrs, recon quered his throne at the point of the sword. He died on the 8th of November, 1033, after a reign of nine years and some months. BENEDICT THE NINTH, THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SECOND POPE. [A. D. 1033.] Simoniacal election of the nephew of John the Nineteenth, u-ho is ordained at the age of twelve years — Tlie emperor Conrad holds a parliament at Pavia — Insolence of the bishop of Milan — Dis- turbances in Poland — Prince Casimir freed from his vows, and crowned king of Poland — Benedict driven from Rome. After the death of John the Nineteenth, the faction of the marquisses and counts of Tuscanella endeavoured to place one of the members of their family on the Holy See. Intrigues, money, and threats, procured the election of Theophylactus, nephew of the two preceding popes, and the son of Alberic, count of Tusculum. He was enthroned at the age of twelve, under the name of Benedict the Ninth. This pontiff soiled the chair of St. Peter with so many crimes and debaucheries, that Cardinal Benno accuses him of having em- ployed witchcraft and enchantments, and of having given to his mistresses love-philtcrs. which rendered them desperately enamoured of his person. He affirms, that he sacrificed to demons, and assisted at the assembUes of magicians, in the woods at night. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 329 Some years after the exaltation of Benedict, the ennperor Conrad made a new descent into Lombardy, to subdue the lords, who had taken up arms against his authority ; he went to Pavia, where he held a parliament, for the purpose of interrogating in person, Heribert, archbishop of Milan, concerning the extortions with which he was charged. But the proud prelate dared to make this insolent reply to the prince: '• Whatsoever I have found in the domains of St. Ambrose, or whatsoever I have acquired, be it in what way it is, I shall take care of during my life, and will not surrender the least of it." The emperor, in his indignation, ordered him to be arrested and confiiled to the charge of Poppin, archbishop of Aquileia, and of Con- rad, duke of Carinthia, who were to conduct him to Placenza. When he arrived in this last city, the archbishop claimed the assist- ance of a monk to aid him in his devotions. His request was granted ; but one night, whilst the monk slept, he took his garments, deceiv- ed the guards by his disguise, and escaped to Milan, where he resisted, for a whole year, the troops sent against him. Heribert, not content with lanching excom- munications against the emperor, stirred up the bishops of the adjoining dioceses, and by means of his intrigues, succeeded in forming a vast conspiracy, whose aim was to displace Conrad from his throne, and elevate in his place, Otho, the count of Upper Burgundy. The plan having been discovered, the bishops of Verceil, Cremona, and Placenza, were ar- rested and conducted beyond the Alps, into tlie prisons of the empire. Heribert, still shut up in Milan^ and beyond the reach of the prince, was unwilling to listen to any terms of accommotlation which the holy father made him. Benedict linally deposed him from his See and anathematized him. Conrad gave his bishopric to a noble named Ambrose, and a baron of the same diocese ; but he could not put his protege in possession of his church ; the excommunicated archbishop maintained himself in it in defiance of the emperor, and seized on the domains which Ambrose pos- sessed about the city. Conrad was soon compelled even to suspend the operations of ihe siege, to succour the pontiff who had been driven from Rome, on account of his depredations. This prince, who had, from motives of policy, declared lumself the protector of the counts of Tusca- nella, led back the young pope, who had then attained his eighteenth year, in triumph to the holy city. Events were transpiring in Poland ; King Mieczislas died, and Richenza, his widow, had incurred universal hatred by emleavouring to weigh down the people beneath the yoke of a despotic government. The virtuous citi- zens of the kingdom addressed sage remon- strances to her, advising her to change her conduct and mode of government. Richenza having despised their warnings, they refused all obedience to her ; the people took up arms, seized upon the palace, and drove away this Vol. I. 2R proud queen in disgrace. But she carried with her the royal treasures and the crown jewels, and retired with her son Casirair, into Germany, from whence she intrigued to re- turn. The young prince traversed Hungary, and went to France to visit the celebrated abbey of Cluny ; the holiness of its inhabitants so impressed his mind, that he resolved to dedicate himself to God. He was admitted into the abbey, and pronounced his vows in the name of Charles. Poland was entirely abandoned to the dis- orders which the ambition of neighbouring princes excited in the provinces ; the Chris- tian religion was abandoned ; bands of peas- ants, led by nobles, ravaged the country, and devastated the churches, and, finally, Bretis- laus, duke of Bohemia, under pretext of pro- tecting the priests, entered upon the Polish territories and seized upon the most important cities of the country ) amongst others, of Gnes- na, which was the capital. This prince lay- ing aside all shame, proceeded, with the bi- shop of Prague, who accompanied him in his expeditions, to pillage the churches. They carried off from the cathedral of Gnesna, a golden crucifix weighing three hundred pounds, three vahiable tables enriched with precious stones, and even the body of St. Adalbert ; but we are assured, that the clergj-, deceiving their sacrilegious greediness, placed in stead of the reliques of the martyr, those of St. Gudence his brother. To put an end to these depredations, Ste- phen, the metropolitan of that See, sent a de- putation to the sovereign pontiff, who cited the guilty to appear at the court of Rome. They immediately sent embassadors, who explained to the pope that their intention was to do homage to the memory of the holy mar- tyr Adalbert, and that they had exercised a legitimate right of conquest in seizing upon his remains. They strengthened their rea- sonings, by a large sum of money, and Theo- phylactus declared that they were innocent of the crimes with which they were charged. The Poles, worn out by anarchy and the evils it carries in its train, assembled in a general diet to remedy the disasters. After having deliberated at length, the assembly determineil to send an embassy to the young Casimir, to offer him the crown. For this purpose they chose several deputies, who went to France and obtained permission from St. Odillon, the superior of the monastery, to visit the prince. They thus spoke to him : '• \¥e come, prince, in the name of the lords and of all the nobility of Poland, to beseech you to have pity upon that kingdom, to remount its throne and free it from its enemies." Casi- mir replied to them: '-That he belonged no longer to the world, and could not even listen to them without the permission of his abbot. The deputies then addressed the eame request to St. Odillon; who, considering that he had not the power to free a professed monk and ordained deacon from his vows, sent them to the holy father. Benedict at first refused to restore Casimir 28* 330 HISTORY OF THE POPES, to his people ; gold and presents, little by lit- tle, overcame his resistance, and, finally, the promise of an annual tribute obtained for the prince, not only permission to leave his mo- nastery and return to his dignities, but even to marry. An author affirms, that this tri- bute was levied with great rigour, not on the nobles or clergy, but on the unfortunate peo- ple, who have been obliged, ever since that period, to cut their hair behind their ears in the fashion of the monks. Casimir married a Russian princess, and his reign commenced in 1004. The pope Theophylactus became daily more odious to the Romans, until finally, after twelve years of rapine, murders, rapes, and robberies, the people drove him from the holy city. SYLVESTER THE THIRD, ANTI-POPE. [A. D. 1004.] John, bishop of Sabine, buys the pontifical throne and reigns three months — Benedict the Ninth returns with an army — The people rise against him a second time — He sells the tiara to a priest named John. After the expulsion of Benedict the Ninth, the bishop of Sabine, one of those who had disputed for the chair of St. Peter with Theo- phylactus, spent his money among the people, promised dignities and ofiTces to the clergy, and obtained the papacy on the day succeeding Christmas, 1044. He was ordained under the name of Sylvester the Third, and his reign lasted three months. Benedict the Ninth, by the assistance of the counts of Tuscanella, his relatives, levied armed bands, which traversed the country of Rome, insulted the citizens, and devastated the farms. To put an end to the incendiarisms and murders of these brigands, the holy city was compelled to open its gates to the un- worthy pontiff, who remounted the apostolic throne. But his debaucheries and exactions soon excited a new revolt, and to avoid the effects of the indignation of the people, he resolved to abandon the government of the church. He, however, judged that it would be unwor- thy of him to lay down the pontificate with- out drawing important advantages from it, and he sold his tiara for fifteen thousand pounds of gold to a priest named John ; he then retired to the palace of the count of Tusculum, his father. In the midst of this universal depravity, a holy monk, Peter Damien, raised his voice to endeavour to lead back men to the sentiments of virtue. This religious had at first professed human literature with great success; but, guided by an heavenly inspiration, he had quitted the vanities of the world to give him- self up to the study of science, in the silence of the cloister. From beneath the frock of the monk, this philosopher gave useful advice to popes and kings ; sought to enlighten the people, and prepared the germs of that for- midable revolution which was to go on in- creasing until It should one day overthrow the powerful of the earth. JOHN THE TWENTIETH, ANTI-POPE. [A. D. 1045.] John consecrated by Benedict — Shameful conduct of the trio— Their debaucheries and crimes— They sell the pontificate to a fourth pope. Benedict consecrated the priest to whom he had sold the tiara, and enthroned him under the name of John the Twentieth. But Sylvester the Third, who had acquired the pa- pacy by an equally criminal simony, wished to reclaim his rights to the throne of the apostle. He entered Rome, seized upon the Vatican, and defended himself courageously against the troops of the anti-pope, his competitor. Benedict, on his side, having dissipated the price of his infamous bargain, conceived the project of retaking the chair of St. Peter, to sell it a second time. He levied new bands of soldiers, re-entered the palace oftheLate- ran by force, and drove away the pontiff whom he had himself established. Thus were seen in Rome three popes; one holding his See in St. John the Lateran, another at St. Peter's, and the third, at St. Maria Majora : Jesus Christ had three vicars, Benedict the Ninth, Sylvester the Third, and John the Twentieth ! ! and, as if the disgrace had not yet reached its height, these priests made an abominable compact among themselves, to divide the spoils of the people, and the patrimony of the poor. HISTORY OF THE POPES, 331 Cotemporary authors affirm, that those three demons, unchained from hell, assembled each night in monstrous orgies with their minions, aiid filled Rome with adultery, robbery and murder; finally, when they had exhausted the treasures of St. Peter, they put up the apostolical throne, for the fourth time, at auction. GREGOKY THE SIXTH, THE ONE HUN.DRED AND FIFTY- THIRD POPE. [A. D. 1045.] Simoniacal election of John Gratian — He is enthroned under the name of Gregory the Sixth — Contradictory opinions in relation to him — Council of Pavia — Gregory convicted of simony and deposed. A RICH Roman priest, named John Gratian, offered the highest price to the three exe- crable anti-popes. They gave him the pre- ference; the bargain was concluded on the very altar of Christ itself, and they consecrated John by the name of Gregory the Sixth. Several ecclesiastical writers have glorified this unworthy priest, for having overthrown this monstroils trinity, but though the monk Glaber exalts the virtues and the piety of Gregor)', we must own that the moving spring of his conduct did not arise from the spirit of the apostolic doctrine, but from the immode- rate desire of possessing the tiara. From the beginning of his reign, Gratian knew that he must cause the scandal of his election to be forgotten by his hj-pocrisy ; he therefore ap- plied himself to govern the church with the appearance of moderation, and reformed some abuses. But soon finding himself absolute mas- ter in Rome, he joined cruelty to avarice ; put to death by torture, the most opulent citizens, for the purpose of confiscating their property. He soon repaired by his exactions the sacri- fices he had been obliged to make in order to purchase the tiara. Unhappy Italy, ruined by its pontiffs, saw the number of robbers increase with the pub- lic misery ; the roads were infested by them ; pilgrims dared no longer traverse its provin- ces, except in large bands; the cities even were filled with assassins, who murdered citizens upon the very altars, and carried off by force, the offerings which were deposited on the tomb of the apostles. Gregory wished to arrest the sacrileges which diminished his mcome, and published a decree prohibiting people from stealing the property of the church; but his bull having no favourable result, he tried the thunders of excommunication. This violent measure did but irritate the guilty; a meeting was held near the patriarchal palace, and threats of death to Gregory were heard. The holy father then sent his troops, and shut up the rebels in the church of St. Peter, where a frightful massacre took place. These bloody executions Avere disapproved of, even by the clergy, who refused any longer to obey the pope. The cardinals and principal prelates of Italy addressed their complaints to Henry the Black, who went immediately into Lombardy and convoked a council to judge the pontiff. Gregory was convicted of having bought the apostolic throne, and condemned, after a reign of seventy months, to be deposed. CLEMENT THE SECOND, THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY- FOURTH POPE. [A. D. 1046.] Degradation of the Roman clergy — Election of Sudiger, bishop of Bamhurg — He is ordained by the name of Clement the Second — His birth and character — Council of Rome — The fathers regidate the right of precedency among the Italian prelates — Letter of Father Damian to the pope — Death of Clement the Second. After the deposition of Gregory the Sixth, the Holy See was declared vacant. Henry the Black went to Rome, and having convoked the clergy, the senate, and the chiefs of the corporations, in the church of St. Peter, he ordered them to proceed immediately to the election of a sovereign pontiff. The prince commanded the assembly of bishops to de- signate to him a Roman priest worthy to oc- cupy the apostolic chair; they replied that in sorrow of heart, they must avow that the clergy of the Holy See were so degraded, that 332 HISTORY OF THE POPES. they did not know a single priest worthy to be elevated to the chair of St. Peter. The emperor himself then designated as pope, the venerable Sudiger, bishop of Bamburg, who was consecrated by the name of Clement the Second. Sudiger was a Saxon, and the chancellor of the emperor; merit alone had elevated him to the dignity of a bishop ; and his humility was such, that they were obliged to use violence in order to array him in the pon- tifical garments. After his ordination, he convoked a council, at which the prince as- sisted, for the purpose of regulating the right of precedence among the Italian bishops, and to prevent the ridiculous disputes of rivalry. On the opening of the first session, the arch- bishop of Milan had not arrived ; the patriarch of Aquileia placed himself on the right of the pope, leaving the seat of the emperor, which was placed immediately by the side of the holy father, vacant : the metropolitan of Ra- venna seated himself on the left of Clement the Second. Humphrey, the new chancellor of Henry the Black, the titulary of the See of Milan, entered in his turn, and, finding the first place occupied, he seated himself on the imperial seat, which was at the right of the pontiff". The bishops of Ravenna and Aqui- leia immediately exclaimed against it, claim- ing the same honour for themselves. Hum- phrey produced a catalogue of bishops who had assisted at a council held by Symmachus, and in which the metropolitan of Milan was inscribed in the first place. His adversaries also cited a decree of the successor of Sym- machus, importing that the prelate of Ravenna had yielded the precedence for that time only, and that it should not be regarded as a prece- dent for the future ; whereas, he should occu- py the seat on the right of the pope unless the emperor was present at the synod, in which case, he should seat himself on the left of the holy father. On his side, the patriarch of Aquileia exhibited a privilege of Pope John the Nineteenth, which granted to him the pre- cedence on the right. The assembly gravely deliberated on this ridiculous question, and the precedence was granted to the church of Ravenna. At the same council, it was decided that priests who had been simoniacally ordained, might, nevertheless, exercise the sacerdotal functions, after a suspension of forty days, and the payment of a fine to the Holy See. Henry left Rome and went to Apulia, ac- companied by Clement the Second, whom he constrained to excommunicate the citizens of Beneventum, who refused to open the gates of their city to him. Arrived at Salerno, they published a bull on the 21st of March, 1047, in which he gave to Prince Gaimar authority to transfer John, bishop of Pestane, to the archiepiscopal See of Salerno, with authority to ordain seven suffragans in the adjoining cities. During his sojourn in Italy, the emperor had invited Peter Damien to go to Rome to aid the pope with his counsels, but he excused him- self with humility, and wrote to the holy father : " The prince has ordered me several times to come to you, to give an account of the scandalous conduct of our clergy; he has even confided to my care a letter which he has addressed to you, and of which I beseech you to take cognizance. I do not wish to lose my time in traversing the provinces, in order to be a witness of the abominations of bishops, priests, and monks, for it is of no service to us to proclaim, that the Holy See "has emerged from darkness into light, if we remain always in darkness. " Of what advantage is it to have provisions in the granaries, if the poor die of famine 1 What avails a good sword, if one knows not how to draw it fiom the scabbard ? Have we not seen that prelate who is called the robber of Hano, even him who had been excommuni- cated by false popes, as well as him of Ossimo, and others besides, who were laden with un- heard-of crimes, return, however, from the holy city, covered with honours 1 Our hope is now changed into sadness; we had thought that you would be the redeemer of Israel, and you deceive our expectations, by selling justice in the temple of Christ." Henry the Black, knowing the hatred of the Romans tov/ards popes who were chosen by the German princes, was unwilling to leave his protege exposed to the vengeance of his enemies. He took him back with him into Saxony, where Clement died soon after, on the 19th of October, 1047, having held the pon- tifical See nine months and a half. He was buried at Bamburg. BENEDICT THE NINTH, REMOUNTS THE HOLY SEE FOR THE FOURTH TIME. [A. D. 1047.] Gregory the Sixth dies in exile — Commencement of Hildehrand — The Romans demand a pope — Benedict the Ninth seizes the Holy See for the fourth time — Is again forced to renounce it. Before his departure from Rome, the em- 1 many, to prevent him from undertaking any- peror had exiled Gregory the Sixth into Ger- 1 thing agamst Clement. We are ignorant HISTORY OF THE POPES. 333 what became of him in this strange land. He most probably died at the period at which his di.sciple Hildebrand retired to the monastery of Cluny, of which he afterwartls became the abbot. This monk, foiled in his ambition, wished to avenge himself on Henry, by pub- licly censuring the council of Sutri, which had granted to that prince the power to expel a pontiiT. After the death of Clement the Second, the Romans, however, who were bound by a so- lemn oath not to choose a pope, without the consent of the emperor, rejected the counsels of Hildebrand, and sent into Germany an em- bassy, instructed to obtain the confirmation of the celebrated Halinard, archbishop of Lyons, as the sovereign pontiff. During the absence of the embassadors, Benedict the Ninth, the perjurer, the adulterer, the incestuous and the bederast, as the abbot of Fons-Avellano, calls him, left the city of Pesaro, where he had taken refuge, returned to Rome at the head of a troop of brigand.^, and seized upon the throne of the church for the fourth time. With him simony, pillage, mur- der, licentiousness, reappeared on the throne of the apostle. After a reign of eight months and a half, however, Theophylactus was again obliged to abandon the Holy See, to shun the anger of the emperor. Before leaving Rome, he wished to prepare the means of returning to it, and imagined this singular drama. He besought Bartholo- mew, abbot of Grotte Ferree, to come to him. On the approach of the venerable cenobite, he appeared touched with repentance, con- fessed his crimes, and announced that he had taken the resolution to abandon the sacerdotal functions, in order to repent. He did. in fact, leave the apostolic chair on the 17th of Jul)*, 1048, the day of the festival of Alexis. The abbot Bartholomew was the most renowned saint at that period. He passed all his life in almost absolute solitude, occupying himself in composing hymns in honour of the Virgin, or in transcribing manuscripts for the library of his abbey. His love of justice and his eloquence had acquired a great reputation for him in Italy, and princes frequently chose him as the arbiter of their differences. But, in the affair of the holy father, all his wisdom and sagacity were at fault, and his . presence at Rome only served to screen the ambitious projects of Benedict. DAMASUS THE SECOND, THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY- FIFTH POPE. [A. D. 1048.] The emperor sends a pope to the Romans who is ordained by the name of Damasus the Second — He reigns twenty-three days — Benedict accused of having poisoned him — He seizes on the tiara for the fifth time, and is again driven from Rome. When Benedict the Ninth had quitted the Holy See, Poppon, bishop of Brixen, arrived at the court of Rome, sent by the emperor who had named him sovereign pontiff. He was immediately ordained by the name of Damasus the Second. But his new elevation was fatal to him, for he only occupied the pontifical chair for twenty-three days, and died at Preneste on the 8th of August, 1048. He was interred in the church of St. Lawrence, without the walls of the city. Theophylactus is accused of having poison- ed the new pope ; in fact, on the very day of the death of Damasus, sustained by the sol- diers of the counts of Tuscanella, he remount- ed, for the fifth time, the pontifical throne. After a reign of six months, the Romans, fatigued with the rule of this infamous usur- per, sent two lords as deputies to Germany, to beseech Henry the Black, to send a vene- rable priest who could re-establish di.sicipline in the church and worthily occupy the chair of the apostle. 334 HISTORY OF THE POPES. LEO THE NINTH, THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SIXTH POPE. [A. D. 1048.] The famous diet of Worms — Bruno bishop of Toul, is chosen pope — Character of the pontiff — Bold stroke of the monk Hildebrand — The holy father goes to Rome in a pilgrim^ garment — Visions of the pope — He is consecrated under the name of Leo the Ninth — Disinterestedness of the pontiff — Councils of Rome and Pavia — Origin of the commemoration of the dead — The pope goes to France and dedicates the church of St. Remij — Council of Rheims — Privi- leges granted to the monastery of St. Maurice — The bishop of Spires accused of adidtery ir\ the council of Mayence — History of the doctrine of Berenger — Singidar letter from Berenger to Lanfranc — The bishop of Langres lorites against Berenger — Councils of Rome, Verceil and Paris on the doctrines of Berenger and the works of John Scotus concerning the eucha- rist — Complaints of Berenger against his persecutors — The metropolitan of Ravenna is poi- soned by order of Leo the Ninth — Writings of Damian on the debaucheries of the clergy — Foundation of the abbey of Chaise-Dieu — The reliqucs of St. Denis the Areopagitc — Firmness of the archbishop of Mayence — Complaints of the pope aminst the Normans — The holy father risks his life in the council of Mantua — Leo the Ninth declares icar on the Normans, and places himself at the head of his troops — He is made prisoner — He is forced in order to recover his freedom, to absolve the Normaris from the excommunication lanchcd against them — Letter of the pope to the patriarch of Antioch — Letter of Michael Cerularius on the unleavened bread and the Sabbath — Reply of the pontiff — Reply of Cerularius — death of Leo the Ninth. After the death of Damasus the Second, the emperor held a diet at Worms, that is, a general assembly of the prelates and lords of his German states. They designated Bruno, the bishop of Toul, as being the most worthy to occupy the Holy See. The prelate was of the illustrious house of Alsace and Lorraine, and the cousin of Henry the Black ; he obtained the papacy at the age of forty-six years, after having been bishop of Toul for twenty-two years. A benevolent character, an exemplary piety, and an agree- able exterior, caused him to be loved by priests and people. His devotion to St. Peter was so great, that he made a yearly pilgri- mage to the tomb of the apostle, and went ac- companied by a crowd of pilgrims which he recruited on the way. In the course of his apostolical labours he had, in connection with the venerable Guidric, reformed several mon- asteries. He had negotiated a peace some years before, between Rodolph, the lord of Burgundy and Robert king of France, and was finally much engaged with the sciences, and especially with music. Notwithstanding all these qualities, whether it was from indifTer- ence. modesty, fear or perhaps a baneful pre- sentiment, when he heard of his election to the pontifical throne, he refused the dignity and demanded three days for a decision. This delay was granted to him. He passed these three days in church, observing the most rigorous fast, and remaining constantly in prayer. He then confessed his sins, and re- quested them, with tears, to leave him in his bishopric of Toul, or at least that his election should be submitted to the consent of the Roman clergy and people. This last condi- tion having been acceded to, he returned to his diocese to celebrate Christmas. The bishops Hugh, Eberhard, Adalberon and Thi- erry accompanied him on his journey. But Hildebrand, the disciple of Gregory, that monk who was eaten up by ambition, and whom we have seen condemn the predomi- nance of temporal power over spiritual autho- rity, becoming tired of a cloistered life and his title of prior, conceived the design of rais- ing himself to the chair of St. Peter. Never- theless, before seizing on the throne of the church, he wished to render the papacy as redoubtable as his pride demanded. Avail- ing himself of the journey of Bruno, who was then traversing Burgundy and who had stop- ped to visit the celebrated abbey of Cluny, he received him with all the honours due to the supreme head of the church ; he understood so well the art of gaining the confidence of the holy father, that this latter determined, by his perfidious advice, to refuse the pontifical dignity which had been offered him by the em- peror. He pointed out to him that it would not only be disgraceful but even very dangerous for him to receive the tiara from a prince. He recalled to his recollection, that the popes his predecessors, who had been elevated to the Holy See by the protection of the emperors, had almost all died a violent death ; he per- suaded him that it was possible to render to God that which belonged to him, without des- pising the sacred rights of him who repre- sented him on earth, and that he could recon- cile the interests of Heaven and the world, by going to Rome without pomp, as a simple Christian who goes to perform his devotions at the tomb of the apostles. "The people and the clergy," said Hildebrand to him, " will be surprised at your modesty ; you will be no longer in their eyes the pontiff who has been imposed on them by the authority of the prince, and they will reward, by a regular election, the priest who shall have entered the holy fold as the true shepherd." Leo, seduced by this specious reasoning, HISTORY OF THE POPES. 335 disrobed himself of his pontifical garments, and in the garb of a pilgrim, went secretly towards the apostolic city, accompanied by the monk of Cluny. During his journey, the holy father stopped in all the churches, and offered up his prayers. It is related that in the city of Augsburg, he had a vision and heard a voice which cried out to him: '-I think of thoughts of peace ..." and the con- clusion of these words taken from Jeremiah. This voice, which was none other than that of the monk of Cluny, strengthened his resolu- tion, and finally, after a journey of two months, he entered the holy city. The clergy, the lords, and the people, who had been fore- warned by Hildebrand, ran before the pontiff singing songs of gladness. Leo then descended from his horse, and went with naked feet to the church of St. Peter. After having finished his prayers at the tomb of the apostle, Leo turned to his assist- ants and said to them : " The most illustri- ous emperor, Henry the Black, has named me chief of the universal church; but this election not having been canonically made, since your suffrages, by the decisions of the holy fathers and the councils, should precede all others, I declare then to you that I have come among you in accordance with the will of my prince, but that I will return to my diocese, unless you unanimously proclaim me sovereign pon- tiffof Kome." Acclamations of joy responded to his words, and Leo was enthroned on the same day, which was the 12th February, 1049. On the 20th of March of the same year, the pope convoked the bishops of Italy and Gaul in a coimcil, for the purpose of declaring all simoniacal ordinations null. The number of these sacrilegious nominations was. however, so great, that wise men feared lest divine ser- vice should be interrupted in the churches, and they contented themselves with confirm- ing the decree of Clement the Second, which provided that those who had been consecrated through simony, should exercise their func- tions after forty days of penance, and the payment of a fitie. Leo the Ninth, decreed that apostate clerks who abandoned their heresies to reunite themselves to the Catholic church, should preserve their rank, but without being able to be promoted to higher dignities. He also ap- proved of the change of John, bishop of Tos- canello. who had been promoted to the bish- opric of Porto; he confirmed his See in the enjoyment of all the property of his diocese, and amongst the rest, in that of the Island of St. Bartholomew at Rome, which had been contestCLl with him by the bishop of St. Sa- bine, and he permitted him to exercise all episcopal functions beyond the Tiber, which proves that the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the holy city did not extend beyond the walls. A month afterwards, the holy father convoked a new synod at Pavia ; he then passed the Alps and went into Germany to visit the em- peror. During this journey, he confirmed the privileges of the abbey of Cluny, by a bull, dated the lllh of June, 1049, and which was addressed to Hugh, the ruler of that monas- tery, since the death of St. Odilon. This holy abbot had, before his death, es- tablished a ceremony, which had extended into other dioceses of Gaul, called the com- memoration of the dead. Authors thus relate the origin of this new institution : '-'A valiant knight was returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, when having lost his way among the sands of Palestine, he encountered a vene- rable hermit, who recognizing him to be a Frenchman, asked him if he had ever heard of the monastery of Cluny, and the abbot Odilon. The pilgrim having replied in the affirmative by a nod of his head, the hermit immediately said to him : '■ God has revealed to me that this holy man has the power to deliver souls from the penalties which they suffer in another life; I beseech you then, my brother, when you shall have returned to Gaul, to go to him and exhort him, and also the monks of his community, to contmue their prayers and alms for the dead." The knight on returning to France, went into Burgundy and came to Cluny, where he repeated the words of the hermit to the monks of that convent; the venerable Odilon then ordered, that on the 1st of November of every year, they should solemnly celebrate, in the church of the abbey, the commemoration of all the faithful who had died since the world began. "On that day, after the chapter was holden, the dean and cellarers, gave alms of bread and wine to all comers, and the steward collected the remains of the dinner of the brotherhood to distribute to the poor. After vespers, they rang all the bells together, and chanted the prayers for the dead ; the next day after matins, they again rang the bells of the convent. On the third day an holy mass was solemnly celebrated ; two monks chanted the passage and each distributed alms to twelve poor persons." This practice soon extended into other monasteries, and became common to the whole Catholic church, after having undergone slight modifications. Before his election, Leo had promised to Herimar, an abbot of St. Remy. to dedicate the new church, which that abbot had built in his convent ; when it was finished, the holy father went to Toul at the time of the exaltation of the holy cross, to fulfil his promise; at the same time he sent commands to the prelates of Gaul to convoke a council which he wished to hold at Rhcims on the 1st of October, after the ceremony was over. But the lay lords who were guilty of inces- tuous marriages, and several simoniacal bish- ops, who feared ecclesiastical censures, repre- sented to the king of France, that the crown would be disgraced, if he permitted a pope to command in the kingdom, and convoke coun- cils without his authority. They observed to him, that none of his ancestors had granted permission to the pontiff's to enter their cities, without their indicating the motive, which led to the convocation of the councils. They re- presented to him, that these assemblages de- manded peaceful times, whilst now his king- 336 HISTORY OF THE POPES. dom was in great confusion, which would only increase the claims of the holy father. Finally, they said to the prince, that instead of yielding deference to the will of Leo, he would more promptly obtain his end by placing- impositions on the property of the bishops and convents, which possessed con- siderable domains, and especially by not spa- ring the rich monastery of St. Remy, on ac- count of this new evidence of the pride of its abbot, who had wished a pontiff to dedi- cate his church. These representations were addressed by Guebin, bishop of Laon, in the name of the clergy, and by Hugh, count of Braine, in that of the nobility. Henry then wrote to his holi- ness that the cares of his kingdom prevented him from being at Rheims on the day fixed for holding the synod, and he besought him to delay his journey into France, until the troubles were at an end, that he might be enabled to render him the honours due to his rank. Leo, urged on by the monk Hilde- brand, replied sharply to the monarch, that he should hold the council with those whom he found there, and without any other notice he entered France. He arrived in the city of Rheims. without receiving any honours by the way, and oidy accompanied by the metropoli- tans of Treves, Lyons and Besan^on, and the bishops of Senlis, Nevers, and Angers, who had come to meet him with the ecclesiastics, and monks of St. Remy. Leo at first remained in the abbey which was situated without the walls of the city ; he then went with the same train towards the cathedral, where he took possession of the seat of the archbishop, and celebrated divine service ; after which, he went to the great archiepiscopal palace. On the last day of Sep- tember, the pope left Rheims during the night, accompanied by two chaplain,s, and returned to St. Remy, where he bathed and shaved in preparation for the ceremony. As soon as the day appeared, he shut himself up in an edi- fice in the rear of the church, because the in- pouring. of the people was so great, that it was impossible to celebrate divine service in the church of the convent. The credulous and simple had assembled, not only from the neighbouring cities and country, but even from distant provinces, to assist at the dedi- cation of the new church. All devotedly kissed the tomb of St. Remy, and deposited rich offerings upon the altar. The enthusiasm was so great that those who could not approach the blessed saint, cast their offerings upon his sepulchre. The monks were occupied all day in receiving the offerings of the faithful, and in carrying them into the treasury of the convent. The holy father showed himself, from time to time, in one of the galleries to bestow his benediction, and he excited the charity of the stupid people by exclaiming : "Give, give to St. Remy." Finally, towards night, the monks worn out with mounting into their chambers to put away their presents, drove the people from the church. The crowd poured out in silence, and remained on their knees, without the gate of the holy place, during the whole night. On the next day, at daybreak, the monks entered the church, bearing the body of St. Corneille, which the clergy of Compeigne had carried to the cathedral, to save from profa- nation, and deposited it upon a sacred altar, in order to give fresh food for the charity of the faithful. At the third hour, the pontiff, clothed in sarcedotal ornaments, accompanied by four metropolitans and several abbots, ap- proached from the tomb of the blessed Remy ; the shrine of the saint was drawn from the sepulchre ; the pope himself carried it on his shoulders, and having given it to the care of the four archbishops, he retired into a sepa- rate chapel. At the same moment the gates of the church were opened and the people rushed in so precipitately, that a great num- ber of men, women and children were tram- pled to death. The relics of St. Remy were carried in pro- cession through the streets of the city and de- posited in the metropolitan church of Notre Dame. On the third day the clergy made a new procession with the shrine without the walls of the city, whilst the holy father, sur- rounded by the principal ecclesiastics, dedi- cated the church,of the monastery ; after the procession, the relics of the holy father were placed on the high altar, and remained ex- posed there whilst the council was in session. Leo the Ninth made a bull, by which he declared that no one could celebrate mass upon that altar, e.xcept the archbishop of Rheims, the abbot of Remy, and seven priests, who should be chosen in the diocese — on the condition, however, that these last should not officiate but tvvice in every year. The holy father finally terminated this ceremony by giv- ing his solemn benediction to the people. They were then occupied with preparations for the council, which had been fixed for the Hd of October, in the church of St. Remy ; twenty bishops, fifty abbots, and other eccle- siastics, assembled at the call of the pope. A ridiculous dispute for precedence was then renewed between the clergy of Rhiems and that of Treves. The metropolitan of Rheims, regarding himself as the primate of the Gauls, claimed the first seat on the right of the holy father — he of Treves, attributing to himself the same dignity and the same rank, also claimed the seat of honour. To make these two parties agree, Leo or- dered that the seats should be all placed in a circle, his own occupying the centre, and he ordered the archbishop of Rheims to regu- late the other places. When the silence, broken by this incident was re-established, Peter, deacon and chancellor of the court of Rome, spoke in the name of the pontiff. He warned the assembly that it was called to- gether to deliberate upon the abuses which existed in France in relation to the exactions of priests, to the apostacies of monks, to the incestuous marriages and adulteries of the laity ; he exhorted the bishops to take the ne- cessary measures to prevent the unjust incar- HISTORY OF THE POPES. 337 ceration of the poor to arrest the robberies and murders by the prelates, of which the people were the victims; he warned them, under penalty of anathema, publicly to de- nounce such among them as had been guilty of simony. The archbishop of Treves rose first, and affirmed on oath, that he had given nothing to obtain the episcopate, and that he had never received any thing when he ordained priests. The archbishops of Lyons and Bes- can9on made the same declaration. As the metropolitan of Rheims had not yet spoken, the deacon turned to him and summoned him lo make his declaration; he replied that he wished to speak in private to the holy father, and to obtain a delay for the purpose of re- plying; they granted him until the ne.xt day. The abbots were summoned in their turn to justify themselves; the superior of St. Remy, he of Cluny, and several others, de- clared that they were free from reproaches ; but there was a great number that did not dare to reply. The bishop of Langres then brought complaints against the abbot of Pon- thieres. his diocesan ; he accused him of adul- tery, incest, and sodomy. This unworthy priest was examined at once, and as he could not justify himself, the council deposed him from the priesthood. Those who did not re- gard the pope as the chief of the universal church, were then enjoined to avow it loudly before the assembly. All kept silence. The next day, Leo, after having given a pri- vate audience to the metropolitan of Rheims, opened the sitting with prayer and the read- ing of the Bible ; the deacon Peter then sum- moned the archbishop to defend himself against the crime of simony, and several other crimes of which he had been accused by pub- lic clamour. This prelate haviiiir obtained per- mission to employ counsel, chose the bishops of Besan9on, Soissons, Angers, Nevers, Senlis, and Terouanne. After a secret deliberation, thebishopofSenlisannounced that the accused was not guill>\ The holy father caused the decree of St. Gregory, in relation to INlaximus of Salona. to be read, and ordered that the suspected prelate should justify himself by oath from the accusation of simony. A new delay was asked by the archbishop, who pro- mised to appear in the following year before a council at Rome, to defend himself. The clergy of Tours, through their organ, the bishop of Lyons, also complained of the bishop of Dol, in Brittany, who hud, with seven of his suffragans, freed himsidf from the authority of the metropolitan of Tours, and had arroLialed to himself the title of arch- bishop. This affair was also referred lo the council of Rome. The deacon Peter, chief manager of the synod, accused the bishop of Langres of hav- ing sold the sacred orders, of having borne arms, of havinir committed adultery and homi- cide, and of having practised the shameful vice of sodomy. Witnesses deposed before the assembly as to all these crimes. A clerk accused the prelate of having carried off his Vol. I. 2 S wife by force, and of having confined her in a convent in order the more easily to gratify his brutality. Another priest also complained of having been given up to satellites, who tor- mented him in a cruel manner in order to ob- tain from him ten pounds of gold which be- longed to him. The bishop of Langres asked for the aid of counsel ; but when he had con- ferred with them, the voice of one of them who essayed to speak in his defence, sud- denly failed him. The metropolitan of Lyons, one of his advocates, alarmed by the miracle, then avowed, that the holy orders had been sold; that the sum designated by one of the witnesses had been extorted, and that the ravishing charged upon the prelate had been done by his orders. The pope, to prevent the scandal arising from an avowal so outrageous to religion, put an end to this affair, under the pretext that it could not be finished at the sitting. He then caused the canons relating to simony, and especially the second decree of the council of Chalcedon, to be read, and dismissed the assembly. On the following day, the deacon Peter commenced the session with the cause which had terminated the preceding debate; but the bishop of Langres was not present at this meeting. The manager of the synod called him three times by the order of the holy father, and they sent the prelates of Angers and Senlis to his residence, to bring him be- fore the council. While waiting for their re- turn. Peter addressed those who had not yet spoken. The bishop of No vers rose from his seat and said : "■ I know that my relatives g-ave large sums to purchase the diocese which I occupy; and I know that since my ordination I have committed grievous faults against the rules of the church. I humble myself before the divine justice, and I declare that I would rather renounce my dignity than keep it at the expense of the safety of my soul." After having thus spoken, he de- posited his cross and mitre at the feet of the sovereign pontiff; but the latter was so touched by his repentance, that he imme- diately re-installed him in his episcopal func- tions, only condemning him to pay a fine. Soon afterwards, they came to announce that the bishop of Langres had fled during the night in order to avoid the condemnation he had incurred for his crimes. He was at once excommunicated by the council. The metropolitan of Besanron then advanced into the midst of the church, and declared in a loud voice, that he had lost the use of speech by the will of Cod, when he had undertaken to defend the guilty ; he then fell on his knees and demanded the pardon of the assembly. This avowal drew tears from Leo, who ex- claimed, "It is true, then, that St. Remyet lives among us!"' All rose spontaneously, and went to the sepulchre of the saint, where they .sang an anthem in Ins honour. The session then re-commenced : the bishop of Constance then admitted that his bishopric had been purchased by one of his near rela- tives; and that having learned of this pro- 29 338 HISTORY OF THE POPES, ceeding, he had wished to make his escape, in order not to be ordained contrary to the rules, but that his brother had forced him to be consecrated in spite of himself. He was consequently judged not to be guilty of simony. The bishop of Nantes declared that he was the son of the former bishop; that his father, while living, had surrendered his See to him ; and that, in order to have his nomination con- firmed, he had sezii large sums to the prince. The council pronounced his deposition, took from him the ring and the cross, but at the entreaty of some prelates, consented to leave him the priesthood. The pope then exhorted the metropolitans to denounce any of their suffragans who were guilty of the abominable crime of magic : all affirmed that they knew of none who were. The assembly was then occupied with judg- ing ecclesiastics who had been invited to the eynod, and who had not come, nor sent legiti- mate excuses to the pontiff. They were all excommunicated, with those who followed the king to the war. and in especial the bishops of Sens, Beauvais, and Amiens. A sentence of excommunication was • also pronounced against the abbot of St. Medard, who had left the council without taking leave, and against the metropolitan of St. James, in Galicia, who had usurped the title of apostolic, which was reserved for the sovereign pontiff. The session was terminated by the reading of twelve canons, which renewed the decrees which had gone out of use, and which con- demned, under penalty of anathema, several abuses which existed in the Galilean church. They prohibited priests from exacting any pay for burying the dead or baptizing infants ; they declared the usury of money impious ; here- tics, who began to multiply in France, were declared without the pale, as well as all Chris- tians who communed with them, or granted them their protection. Counts Engelrai and Eustache were excommunicated for incest ; also Hugh of Braine, for having abandoned his lawful wife, to marry his concubine. The nobles of Compiegne were threatened with ecclesiastical thunders, if they dared to hin- der the members of their clergy from return- ing into the diocese ; and finally, counts Thi- balt and GeofiVey were cited before the coun- cil which was to be held in Mayence : the one for having abandoned his wife ; the other for retaining the count of INIans in prison. The synod having terminated, Leo dismissed the clergy and laity by giving them his bene- diction. On the sixth of October, the holy father visited the chapter of the monks of St. Denis. ■He besought them to unite their prayers with his ; and after having all prostrated them- selves, he gave them absolution and the kiss of peace. Leo, accompanied by the prelates, then entered the church, celebrated divine service, and having taken the body of St. Rerny from the altar, bore it on his shoulders, and deposited it in the sepulchre, and ordered that the festival of tjie saint should be cele- brated on the 1st of October of each year. Finally the pope started for Germany. He stopped three days on the way, at the con- vent of St. Maurice in the high Valais. He granted to the monks considerable exemp- tions, and prohibited, under penalty of ana- thema, all prelates from pillaging the" property of the abbey, or from claiming any right to interfere in the affairs of this church without the consent of the canons. On his arrival at ftlayence, Leo held a new council, at which the emperor Henry the Black, the lords of his kingdom and forty bishops assisted. The metropolitans of Treves, May- ence, Cologne, Hamburg, and Magdeburg, were at the head of the cleigy. It is related that Sibicon, bishop of Spires, accused of having committed several adulteries, wished to justify himself by celebrating the holy sac- rifice of the mass, but that God performed a miracle, in order to punish this sacrilege, and permitted that a sudden paralysis should turn his mouth to the side of his face. Several impoitant decisions, touching simony and the marriage of priests, were made in this assem- bly. To assure the execution of it, the arch- bishop Adalbert, on arriving at Hamburg, ex- communicated in mass, all the concubines of the priests, and drove them from his capital. At this period, a new doctrine, in relation to the eucharist was broached in France, which for a long time troubled the church; it was taught by Bishop Berenger. This pre- late, born at Tours in the beginning of the eleventh century, had studied in the school of St. Martin, where Walter, his uncle, was the chanter ; he afterwards continued his studies under the direction of Fulbert, bishop of Charlres. Returned to his native city, Beren- ger was received into the chapter of St. IVIar- tin, where he obtained a professor's chair ; in 1040 he was named archdeacon of Angers, preserving his place in the monastery of Tours ; he had for a disciple Eusebius or Bruno, who was afterwards bishop of Angers. At the same period, Lanfranc, a monk of Bee, in Normandy, commenced his lessons on sacred history, and he obtained such prodi- gious success, that the clergy from all parts of Gaul came together to hear him. But when Berenger appeared, the school of Lanfranc was deserted. The latter, wounded in his vanity, attacked his antagonist as an heretic, and preached against the primitive simplicity and purity of the doctrine of the eucharist, condemning the opinions of Berenger. The illustrious professor of Tours, in his turn, pub- licly censured the doctrine of the monk, and the quarrel commenced. Berenger wrote to Lanfranc : '•' I am in- formed, my brother, by Enguerrand of Char- tres, that you disapprove of the thoughts of John Scot, in regard to the sacrament of the altar, and even regard them as heretical, be- cause they do not agree with those of Pas- chasus, your favourite author. If it is so, I fear, that yielding to a precipitate judgment, you have not wisely used the mind which God has given you. When you shall have HISTORY OF THE POPES. 339 studied the sacred Scriptures, you will also condemn St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, or St. Au- gustin, or else you will approve of the rea- sonings of John Scot in relation to the eucha- rist ; for you will learn by taking the works of the fathers, and of the doctors of the church, according to their most correct sense, that Iran- substantiation or the real presence of Christ in the eucharist. is an error which the last century has bequeathed to ours." Hugh, bishop of Langres, also condemned Berenger in a letter, in which, however, he calls him most reverend father : '' You main- tain," he wrote to him, "that the nature of bread and wine is not changed in the sacrament of the altar, and that the essence of Christ in these substances is immaterial ; that is to say, you make the palpable body of Jesus Christ, which was crucitied, pure spirit; and you scandalize all the church by declaring him incorporeal. If the consecration does not physically transubstantiate the bread and wine, the act is not accomplished but in our intelligence, and does not e.xist beyond us, and the holy communion is but an idolatrous ceremony ; but as you avow it, your senti- ments upon this mystery are dilTerent from those of common ecclesiastics." Leo the Ninth, to whom the opinions of Berenger had been denounced as heretical, held a council at Rome, where a great num- ber of bishops, abbots and clergy met : Lan- franc assisted at it. By the order of the sove- reign pontiff, a letter concerning the eucharist, addressed to the monks of Bee, by the illus- trious professor of Tours, was produced. Be- renger was excommunicated, and the holy father ordered Lanfranc to explain his faith, fortifying it by authorities and not by reason- ing. The monk then explained his belief, which was found to be orthodox. The deputies from the metropolitan of Tours, were then heard in relation to the com- plaints which had been made during the pre- ceding year, at the synod of Rheims, against the bishop of Dol and him of Brittany. These two prelates not having appeared at the coun- cil, the holy father wrote to the duke of Brit- tany to reduce these rebellious priests to submission. "You know, my lord, that in accordance with ancient charters, all the members of the clergy of your country, should be submissive to the archbishops of Tours, as was declared to Solomon, king of Brittany, by Pope Nicholas. We advise you then, that we exclude from our communion, the ecclesias- tics who shall refuse to obey their superior; and we prohibit them from celebrating divine service, or even blessing the people. We beseech you not to appear in the temples in which they shall be present, until the time of holding the council of Verceil, and until they shall be justified from the accusation brought against them." Notwithstanding the anathema pronounced against his doctrine, Berengiu- continued to propagate his errors, and William the Bas- tard, duke of Normandy, desiring to be en- lightened on so important a question, assem- bled several bishops at Brienne, a small city on the banks of the Risle, near to the monas- tery of Bee, where he sent for Berenger. But the professor refused to enter into a discus- sion with the prelates, and retired to Charlies, from whence he wrote a letter, in which he declared, that he would not reply to questions put to him by the regular and secular clergy, until he had convictetl of heresy the pope and Roman bishops in the council of Verceil. This assembly was held in the month of Septem- ber 1052. Leo the Ninth presided over it ; Lanfranc was there, and Berenger did not ap- pear. The book of John Scot on the eucha- rist was read, declared heretical, and cast into the flames. Berenger was a second time ex- communicated, and two of his disciples who presented themselves as his embassadors were arrested in the synod and burned alive. In the same council, the holy father sus- pended Humphrey, metropolitan of Ravenna, from his functions ; he granted the pallium to Dominick, the patriarch of Grada, with the title of primate, and the right of bearing the cross before him. The synod finished, Leo passed the Alps and went to Toul, where he granted a privilege to the monastery of St. JMansuil, on the occasion of the translation of the relics of St. Gerard : he remained in Lor- raine and Germany until the month of Febru- ary of the succeeding year. Notwithstanding the double excommunica- tion fulminated against Berenger, his doctrine secretly spread through Gaul, and King Henry, by the advice of the bishops, convened a coun- cil at Paris to judge it definitely. Berenger, having received orders to appear before it, addressed the following letter to the monk Ascelin : '*' If the divine power had given me leisure, I would have addressed to you a let- ter reasoned at length; but since God has not permitted me, I write to you my thoughts without sifting them, and without putting them in order. Until this time, I have not combatted the sacrilegious proposition of Bro- ther William, in which he decides that every Christian should approach the holy table at Easter, and on account of my silence, this monk maintains, that I am unable to defend the opinions of John Scot, and that I avow that he was a heretic. "I beseech God, my brother, that he would open your eyes, that you may be enabled to see how impious, sacrilegious, and unworthy of the priesthooil it is to condemn the super- human truths which Seot has demonstrated. If you believe with Paschasus, that in tlie sacrament of the altar, the substance of the bread is annihilated, you give the lie to natu- ral reason and the doctrine of the Bible and the apostle. Thus, as I wrote to Lanfranc, you proscribe the luminaries of the church, St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, and St. Augustin ; and you condemn yourself, since the words pro- nounced by the priest in the consecration prove that the matter of the broad remains in the eucharist. "I am accused in your convent of Bee, of having maintained that the episcopal rod does 340 HISTORY" OF THE POPES. not confer the power to direct the souls of the faithful, which is an imposture, for I would willingly publish this truth loudly. But I cannot hazard myself by appearing before a council ; the rage of my enemies is well known to me, and I do not wish to expose myself to undergo the frightful punishment to which my envoys were condemned. I conjure you only, in the name of the fathers, the evangelists, the doctors, and of Christ, not to bear a guilty testimony against me, by say- ing that I condemned Scot ; and I call down the malediction of God upon those, who, hold- ing the key of science, avoid the sacred tem- ple, and close its entrance against men. — Adieu." Theoduin or Deoduin, bishop of Liege, in- stigated by the suggestions of the court of Rome, wrote to the king of France to dissuade him from allowing the bishop of Angers or the professor of Tours from appearing before the council of Paris, and urged upon the prince to condemn them without hearing them. Be- renger, who foresaw his condemnation, re- fused to appear, and remained with Bruno, his superior and former pupil, who approved of his doctrine. The book of John Scot was declared heretical, and it was directed, that troops, having clergy at their head, should go to seize the guilty deacon and his followers even in the sanctuary, and that they should pursue them with fire and sword until the)" should submit to the orthodo.x faith. Berenger wrote at once to the abbot Rich- ard, who had access to King Henry, to trans- mit his request to that prince. In his letter he asked the monarch to suspend the unjust de- crees made against him, and to send a person of his court to him with whom he could enter into conference. He engaged to prove that the synod of Verceil had condemned Scot, and approved of Paschasus, through ignorance ; he recalled to the recollection of the king, that John Scot had not written, but at the re- quest of Charles the Bald, his predecessor, and finished by saying, in the bitterness of his heart, that he could not admit that the gross meii of that period were more infallible than the Holy Scriptures. The complaints of the professor of Tours were just ; for in depriving him of his pro- perty and threatening him with fire and sword, the monarch and his bishops were guilty of gjreat intolerance. No power can impose be- lief on man, and especially too, can it not make men profess it, by employing persecu- tion. Religions which have resource to pun- ishment to establish their dogmas, cause us to suspect their divinity by the violence which they eniploy, and we must admit that the Cath- olic religion '-is that which has made most martyrs in the conversion of men." Frontig- nieres, in the history of Berenger, adds this reflection: '-'Catholicism has propagated itself by violence, because its priests are cruel, and because they take pleasure in shedding blood, in order to cement the errors which increase their riches. Before the time of Berenger, the dogma upon the eucharist recognized by the church, was not that of transubstantiation, — he did nothing then but renew the decisions of the doctors and fathers. Progressive ideas were not admitted in those barbarous ages, and they condemned, as heresy, new doctrines, not on account of the errors which they prop- agated, but on account of their differing from the texts adopted by the church. The ac- cused were thus compelled to free themselves by quotations and not by reasoning. Whilst they were persecuting a deacon in France, in order to satisfy the demands of the court of Rome, Leo the Ninth was cele- brating the festival of the Purification in Germany. It is related that the holy father performed a singular miracle in the city of Augsburg. Humphrey, the metropolitan of Ravenna, had come to meet the pope, by the orders of Henry the Black, in order to do homage to him for the territory which he had usurped from the Holy See, and to ask for absolution from the anathema which had been pronounced against him at the council of Verceil. At the moment at which he pros- trated himself at the feet of Leo, in the pre- sence of all the clergy, his holiness saitl, in an angry voice, '-God grant you pardon for your sins according to your deserts, for you have need of it." The archbishop rose up laughing, and said with a mocking air, '• you have, holy father, more need than I." The pontiff then dissolving into tears, exclaimed, '-Alas, this unfortunate man no longer exists." In fact the prelate fell dead at the moment, as if struck by a thunderbolt. The pope then returned to Rome, where he held a synod to judge Gregory, bishop of Ver- ceil, on an accusation of adultery committed with a widow who was affianced to his uncle. The prelate went immediately to the sover- eign of the church ; he offered him a large sum of money, and obtained from him autho- rity to continue in his episcopal functions, whilst living in sin. The decree which de- clared women who had prostituted them- selves to ecclesiastics, residing within the bounds of the holy city, slaves of the palace of the Lateran, Is attributed to this conven- tion. This right extended itself in the end to other dioceses. Leo is the first pope who ordained that the tenth part of the oblations offerei upon the altar of St. Peter, should be employed in the repairs, embellishment, and lighting of that church. By a letter addressed to the clergy and people of Ossimo, the pontiff severely censures the custom which existed in some cities, of entering the residence of deceased bishops forcibly: of pillaging the furniture, stealing the vessels, burning the country houses, and even of tearing up the vines from the lands. Peter Damian addressed a letter to Leo, asking for his advice in relation to the scan- dals of the clergy of his province. " We have prelates," wrote he, " who openly abandon themselves to all kinds of debauchery, get drunk at their feasts, mount on horseback, and keep their concubines in the episcopal palaces. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 341 These unworthy ministers push the faithful into the abyss, and the mere priests have fallen into an excess of corruption, without our being able to exclude them from sacred orders. The priesthood is so despised, that we are obliged to recruit ministers for the service of God from among simoniacs, adulterers, and mur- derers. Formerly, the apostle declared worthy of death, not only those who committed crimes, but even those who tolerated them ! What would he say, if he could return to earth and see the clergy of our days? The depravity is so great now, that the priests sin with their own children ! These wretches make a pre- text of the rules of the court of Rome, and, as they have a tariff for crimes, they commit them in all safety of conscience." Peter cites some of these rules, which are remarkable: '-'A priest who is not a monk, and who sins accidentally with a virgin, shall perform two years of penance, and shall fast on bread and water on the Mondays, Wednes- days, Fridays, and Saturdays of three Lents. If the young girl is consecrated to God, and if the sin is habitually committed, the penance shall be for five years. '•A mere clerk, for the same fault, shall do penance for six months, and a canon for two years. Priests guilty of fornication, shall be condemned to ten years of severe penalties, laymen to three years." '■Thus," adds Damian, '-'clerks, according to the penitential laws, not being submitted but to six months of light penance, find them- selves treated more favourably than men who do not belong to the church. But I declare, that the popes who framed these miserable laws are responsible to God for all the disor- ders of the church, for the decrees of the synod of Ancyra condemn to twenty-five years of penance mere laymen who are guilty of the sin of the flesh. St. Basil and Pope Siricus declared every one suspected of these crimes unworthy of the priesthood. I hope, then, yoLir holiness, after having consulted the legislation of the church and the doctors, will make a decision which will repress the disor- ders of our priests." Leo replied to the monk, that the sins which he censured deserved to be punished with all the rigour of the penitential laws, and by the deprivation of orders ; but, that the number of guilty clerks rendered that proceeding imprac- ticable, and obliged him to preserve even the criminal in the church. In 1052, the monastery of Chaisc-Dieu, in Auvcrgne, was founded by Robert. This abbey was authorized by a bull, and by letters patent of the king of France, .subscribed by the bishops and lords of that kingdom. This year was also marked by a fatal event — the death of Halinard, archbishop of Lyons. That metropolitan had come to Rome with Hugh, the former bishop of Langres, to obtain from the holy father the re-installation of this guilty person in his See. At the request of the venerable prelate, Leo pardoned the traitor Hugh, and even gave him a bishop's mitre in token of reconciliation. But this wretch, who regarded the metropolitan of Lyons as the author of his first disgrace, repaid his benefits by the blackest ingratitude. Halinard was invited to a repast which Hugh and his parti- zans, who had returned into France, offered him ; a poisoned turbot was served up at table, and he died the next day, the 29th of July, from the con.sequences of this feast. This prelate was endowed with a remarkable eloquence. He served as the mediator of Leo in making his peace with the Normans. The faithful friend of the pontiff, he had followed him to Beneventum, Capua, Monte Cassino, and Monte Gargan, and rarely left him in his travels. As Andrew, king of Hungary, still refused to pay the annual tribute which his predeces- sor had poured into the treasury of the empire, in conformity with the treaties which his an- cestors had made, Leo, with the pretext of putting an end to the war which was on the point of breaking out between Henry the Black and Andrew, went on a new journey into Germany. The pontiff, in reality, had no other object than to secure succours from the emperor against the Normans, who were ra- vaging the territories of the church. King An- drew, who had penetrated the designs of the holy father, was unwilling to accept his medi- ation, and even refused him permission to enter his states. Henry the Black and the pope passed a great part of the year in the German states, in conferring upon the measures to be taken against the Normans. During the sojourn of Leo at Ratisbon, the monks of St. Emmeran came to beseech him to second them in a piece of pure knavery in regard to the relics of St. Denis the Areopagite, the first bishop of Paris, of which they pretended they were the sole possessors. The holy father consent- ed to e.xamine the bones presented to him, and he declared by a hull bearing date on 7th of October, 1052, that, by the inspiration of God, he recognized the body of St. Denis in the precious relics of the convent of St. Emmeran, and he called the French monks who pre- tended to possess the remains of that blessed martyr, visionaries. During the same year, the emperor and his holiness celebrated Christmas at Worms ; the pontitf officiated on the day of the festival, and on the next day, it was the turn of Luit- pold, archbishop of Mayence. A deacon of the church, after the first prayer of the mass, thundered forth a lesson, in conformity with the custom of the province; but, as this cus- tom was contrary to that of the court of Rome, the ullra-montanes exclaimed, and a.ced by Photius, and separated for ever the church of the East from that of the West. Among the legates sent to Constantinople, Humbert, the cardinal bishop, was the most influential personage, on account of the au- thority which his title gave him above his colleagues; it thus becomes necessary to in- form ourselves of the origin of the cardinalate, and of the importance which this dignity had obtained in the church towards the conclusion of the eleventh century. The most ancient author, who has spoken of the cardinals, is St. Gregory, in 596, the first pope whose policy laid the foundation of the temporal power of the Holy See. In those first ages of the church, the cardinal priest was simply the curate of the principal parish in which he was not born. In consequence of political changes and revolutions, very many ecclesiastics, driven away by the baibarians, took refuge in the cities which were under the protection of the empire, and in which they were entertained from the common purse of the clergy, as the ecclesiastics of the city. When an ecclesiastic died, his office was sometimes assigned to a refugee priest, who took the title of incardinatus, that is, of received or transferred, to distinguish him from the clergyman who obtained a minis- terial charge without having left another, and who was called ordinatus, or priest hierarchi- cally ordained. This usage was established in Italy at the beginning of the seventh century, when a great number of bishops, priests, and deacons were deprived of their churches by the Lom- bards. As the greater part of those fugitives came to the cities of Ravenna or Rome, which offered to them more chances of place, it hap- pened that in these two cities almost all the charges were occupied by them; those titu- laries were called cardinals. They were distinguished as cardinal deacons, cardinal priests, and cardinal bishops ; but soon this title, which at the commencement designa- ted a precarious and subaltern state, changed its signification, and served to distinguish the difference of churches and employments; for example, a canon of a cathedral was called a cardinal to distinguish him from ecclesiastics, who served the churches of the second order ; but the title of cardinal was inferior to that of bishop, and prelates did not habitually pre- serve it when they arrived at the episcopate. During the pontificate of Pascal the First, in 817, the curates of Rome took the title of cardinals, to designate that they were the ministers who approached nearest the person of the pope, and who participated in his elec- tion ; afterwards, when the clergy had taken from the Roman people the right of election, the authority of the cardinals so increased, that the pontificate fell almost always to one of them. Little by little the cardinalate was transformed into a particular dignity, and the prelates who were clothed with it, insensibly constituted themselves into an electoral col- lege. In the twelfth century, however, they had not yet any distinctive mark of their title ; the red hat was not given to them until the following century; in 1464, Paul the Second authorized them to wear the 'red cap and scarlet stockings, when they mounted on horseback ; and finally, Urban the Eighth gave them the title of eminence, by a solemn bull. It was thus that by degrees this dignity be- came the first in the church after the papacy, and cardinals are now to the pontill what senators or secretaries of state are to an em- peror or king. In the Catholic church they are regarded as the pivot on which the whole church turns,«and the common people honour them as lords, for whom there exists no title sufficiently magnificent. 348 HISTORY OF THE POPES. VICTOR THE SECOND, THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY- SEVENTH POPE. [A. D. 1055.] Singular election of the pontiff — He is enthroned by the name of Victor the Second — Council of Tours — Comicil of Toulouse — Complaint against the bishop of Narbonne — The pope vio- lates the privileges of the abbey of Monte Cassino — Journey of the holy father — His death. After the death of Leo the Ninth, the Ro- mans dared not elect a new pontiff for the Holy See without the orders of the emperor, and they deputed to him the subdeacon Hil- debrand to beseech him, in the name of the clergy, the grandees, and the people, to desig- nate himself, him whom he should judge the most worthy to mount the throne of St. Peter. Hilbebrand, who constantly pursued his ambi- tious projects, and wished to render the pon- tifical elections independent of the will of the princBj went immediately into Germany, and persuaded the bishops of that country that it would be advantageous to them to elevate to the pontificate the venerable Gebehard, a re- lative of the emperors, whom the Romans had already designated. The prelates, docile to his request, presented themselves before the sovereign, and besought him to approve of this nomination. Heiuy tenderly loved this bishop, who was one of the richest and most powerful lords of his empire ; he was profoundly afflicted at the choice which had been made, foreseeing that the pontilic^l dignity would change the incli- nations of his relative, and raise up a formida- ble enemy to the empire. He refused at first to confirm this election, under the pretext that the presence of Gebehard was necessary in Germany, and he proposed others for the papacy ; but all the reasons which he brought forward, not being able to overcome the de- termination of Hildebrand. he was obliged to yield to his urgency. Gebehard parted for Rome with the embassador : he was recog- nized as pope by an unanimous vote, and consecrated as such on Holy Thursday, the 13th of April 1055, by the name of Victor the Second. A legend relates that shortly after his en- thronement, a deacon of St. Peter, who lived in concubinage with his own sister, and who had been censured for this incest, formed a plan to revenge himself on the pope, and mixed jMison with the blood of Jesus Christ in the chalice, whilst the pontiff was celebra- ting divine service; but that when as Gebe- hard had pronounced the sacramental words, and wished to raise the chalice before the people, he could not detach it from the altar by any effort he could make. Surprised at this prodigy, the holy father prostrated him- self with his face to the ground, imploring God in a loud voice to inform him of the cause of this miracle ; immediately the^wisoner, who was on his knees beside him, was seized by the spirit of darkness and fell across the steps of the altar, pronouncing horrible blasphe- mies, and accusing himself of the parricide which he wished to commit ; the pious Gebe- hard, moved at the horrible sufferings of the possessed, then prayed again with the people until the obsession of the deacon had passed off; he then raised the chalice without diffi- culty, and enclosed it in the tabernacle of the oratory to preserve it with the relics. Maim- burg very gravely tells this story as an irre- fragable proof of the holiness of Victor. During the same year the emperor went into Italy to assist at the feast of Pentecost, which the pontiff had ordered to be celebrated at Florence. A great council was held in that cit}', at which several abuses which had been introduced among the clergy, were con- demned. The prohibition to alienate church property was renewed, and the penalty of ex- communication was pronounced against clergy or laity who should contravene this law. After this assembly rose, Gebehard sent the sub- deacon Hildebrand into France as his embas- sador, to put a bridle upon the disorders of the clergy, and particularly to repress simony, that sacerdotal leprosy which had covered all the churches of Italy and Gaul. In execu- tion of the orders of the holy father, Hilde- brand convoked a synod at Lyons. At the openmg of the sitting, a bishop was accused of having bought his See at auction ; but as the discussion was prolonged into the night, the fathers were obliged to defer until the next day, the judgment in this case. During the night the accused profited by the delay which had been granted to him, and corrupted the accusers and witnesses with gold ; and the next day, when the council had assembled, he boldly presented himself, demanding to be confronted with his enemies. The accu- sers were called with a loud voice and no one appeared. The wary Hildebrand then rose with dignity, and said to him : '■ Do you firmly believe that the Holy Spirit sees everything, and that it is of the same substance with the Father and the Soul" The bishop replied, " I do." "Then," added the deacon, " recite with a loud voice, and in the presence of this assembly, the Gloria Patri." The guilty man commenced the doxology with a firm voice, but having reached the words Spirilui Sancto, he could not articulate them ; he immediately fell at the feet of the legate, and with floods of tears confessed his crime, and demanded to be condemned with all the rigour of the canons. Hildebrand immediately pronounced a sen- HISTORY OF THE POPES. 34§ tence of deposition against him, and he could at once say the Gloria Patri. All the assist- ants, alarmed and fearful of the same chastise- ment, implored the clemency of the legate. Peter Damian, who recounts this miracle, adds, that he heard HiJdebrand himself relate it, and that Hugh, abbot of Cluny, as well as Pope Calixlus the Second, were eye witnesses of it. Fleury says, that at the same period, the sub-deacon legale convoked a council at Tours, at which appeared Berenger, with Lanfranc, his implacable adversary ; that he had permission given to him to defend his opinion, but that he dared not do it, and pub- licly confessed the common belief of the church, swearing that for the future he would conform to the decisions of the Holy See. The same author adds, that Berenger sub- scribed this retraction with his own hand, and that Hildebrand then admitted him to his communion. Father Ignatius Hyacinthus af- lirms, that the monk of Bee had a learned discussion with Berenger, that he convicted him of his errors, and compelled him to re- tract them in the presence of Hildebrand. In the following year a new council was held in the city of Toulouse; llairabault, Ponce and Geoffrey, the metropolitans of Arles^ Aix, and Narbonne, presided over this assem- bly in the capacity of legates of the pope. The fathers made some regulations in regard to the incontinence and simony of the priests ; they then heard the complaints of Berenger, viscount of Narbonne, against the archbishop, one of the legates of the Holy See, and one of the presidents of the assembly. Berenger thus spoke : " During the time of archbishop Ermangaud, my uncle, the See of Narbonne was the most important from Rome to Spain ; it was rich in lands and castles ; the church was filled with books and plate; it possessed large sums in its treasury, numer- ous canons served it, and more than a thou- sand serfs cultivated its domains. On the death of Ermangaud, Geoffrey, the count of Cerdaigne, whose sister I had married, came to Narbonne, and proposed to me to obtain the vacant archbishopric for his son who was then but ten years old, with the promise of dividing an hundred thousand pennies of gold between my father and the count of Rhoiies, if they would acquiesce in this proposal. My father and mother refused to accept it, but I was weak enough to follow the advice of my wife ; I resisted the authors of my day, and was even so transported with anger against them, as in a moment of wrath to threaten to put them to death, if they did not yield to the demand of the count of Cerdaigne. My father, whom age had rendered timid, obeyed; GeolTrey paid down the huntlrecl thousand pennies, and his son was placed in possession of the archbishopric of Narbonne, after having sworn that neither we, ours, nor tho diocese should ever suffer any harm by his will or negligence. When the infant pre- late, however, became a man, he failed in all his promises ; he sold the domains of the church and those of the canons, to bestow them on his concubines and minions; he con- structed strong forts in which to lodge his troops, and has waged a terrible war in v\ hich thousands of Christians have found their death. He has purchased the See of Urgel for his brother William, with an hundred thousand pennies of gold, and has paid this sum with the crosses, chalices, shrines of the relics and patines of gold and silver which he has sold to the Jews. He has finally placed himself under the protection of the countess Urgel, his relative, with whom he maintains a crimi- nal intercourse. In order to put a finishing stroke to his crimes, this wretch has lanched an excommu- nication against me, my wife, my cliildren, and my territories; he has prohibited ecclesi- astics from administering baptism, commu- nion, and the burial of the dead in my pro- vince. It is true that we regard of but little account the anathema of a man who is laden with all iniquities, and whom Pope Victor, in the council of Florence, himself excommu- nicated for simony ; not only has he 'sold all the ecclesiastical orders, but he had been paid for the consecration of the bishops, and the dedication of the churches of my domains. It is on these accounts that I complain to you and to Christ, and entreat the pope to give me justice against my bishop. Otherwise I shall hold of no account the excommunication lanched against me by Geoffrey, and shall not keep the truce of God." In order to understand this last expression, it is necessary to recall to our recollection, that since the reign of Louis the Good Na- tured, the royal authority was no longer re- spected ; the lords and nobles maintained their right to administer justice, by force of arms : hence arose the wars of province against pro- vince, county against county, castle against castle; pillage, robbery, incendiarism and murder became customary, and were no longer regarded as crimes. At length, during the reign of King Robert, and particularly in the kingdom of Aquitaine. a more efficacious means than those which had yet been tried, was resorted to, to arrest these ravages. A council held in the diocese of Elne, a depen- dancy of Roussillon, declared, that in future, from Wednesday night until INIonday morn- ing, no one should seize by force of arms upon the domains of his enemy, nor should avenge any injury, under the penalty of paying a fixed fine, or of being excommunicated and banished from his province; this agreement was called the truce of God. The history of the church has left us in ignorance of the result of the complaints of the viscount of Narbonne; it is most likely they were not received by the synod of Tou- louse, as the accused was himself one of the legates of the Holy See. Whilst the French clergy and nobility were ruining provinces by their quarrels, and de- manding justice, one against another at the court of Rome, Richer, abbot of Monte Cas- sino died, and the monks chose as his suc- 30 350 HISTORY OF THE POPES. cesser, Peter, the senior of the convent, a venerable old man, who had passed his long career in the study of the sacred Scriptures, and in the practice of Christian virtues; but the pope, enraged that this election had been made without his authority, and that he had not derived any benefit from it, sent Cardinal Humbert to Monte Cassino, with orders to annul the nomination of the new abbot. To bring the monks to reason, the cardinal in- vested Monte Cassino with his soldiers, seized the venerable Peter by force, and sent him to Rome. The holy father caused him to be confined in the dungeons of the palace of the Lateran, where he died of famine. The monk Frederick, who afterwards reached the pa- pacy under the name of Stephen the Tenth, was named abbot. After this exploit, Victor came to Goslar in Germany, where he received the last sighs of the emperor Henry the Third, who died in his arms, on the 5th of October, 1056. Some days before, the bishops and principal lords of Germany had solemnly recognized his son as his successor to the empire, although the young prince was but five years old ; the em- press Agnes, his mother, was named regent, and took the reins of government, until his majority. The pope then prepared for his return to Italy, but on arriving in Tuscany, be was suddenly taken ill, and died on the 28th of July, 1057. STEPHEN THE TENTH, THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-EIGHTH POPE. [A. D. 1057.] History of Stephen before his pontificate — His election — He tvishes to reform the church — Let- ter of Peter Damian to the cardinals — State of the Eastern schism — 2'he pope wishes to over- throw the poiver of the emperors — His death. Stephen the Tenth, was the brother of Godfrey, duke of Lorraine, one of the most powerful princes of that peiiod, who had for a long time combatted against the emperor in the provinces of Upper and Lower Lorraine, which he had finally re-united under his sway. His wars with the empire only termi- nated on the occasion of the journey of Pope Leo the Ninth, his relative, into Germany, who had negotiated a treaty of alliance be- tween Henry and Godfrey. Three years after- wards, the duke of Lorraine came into Italy, accompanied by his brother Frederick, who was then the archdeacon of Liege ; the holy father made him a cardinal deacon, with the offices of librarian and chancellor of the Ro- man church ; he then sent him as his legate to Constantinople, to reduce the patriarch Michael Cerularius to obedience. This em- bassy was attended with disagreeable results to the young Frederick ; for on his return into Italy, he was arrested, as well as his col- leagues, Humbert and Peter, by Trasimond, duke of Spoletto, who seized upon the rich presents which the emperor Constantine Mo- nomacus sent to the church of St. Peter, and d rove them from his states, after having despoiled them even of their vestments. Leo was dead when Frederick returned to Rome ; as he was ambitious of the thle of pope, he lost no time, and went into Germany to obtain the protection of Henry. But he found the dispositions of the emperor towards him but little favorable, on account of the marriage of Godfiey with Beatri.x, the widow of Boniface, marquis of Tuscany, which open- ed to his brother a great preponderance in Italy, and gave to him facilities to seize the imperial crown. The deacon having failed in his ambitious projects, shut himself up in Monte Cassino. to wait the progress of events, and embraced the monastic life. He after- wards bought from Pope Victor, the dignity of abbot of his monastery and of cardinal priest. But scarcely had he taken possession of his church, when Boniface, bishop of Al- bano came to Rome, to announce the news of the death of the pontiff. New intrigues for the tiara immediately commenced. Frederic scattered his gold pro- fusely among the clergy, and bought up the soldiers ; and, finally, when the corporations of the trades came together to consult upon the choice which they should make, he dared to reply, that he alone was worthy to occupy the throne of the apostle. His partizans ex- claimed, " Amen," and bore him in triumph to the church of St. Peter, where he was pro- claimed sovereign pontifl', under the name of Stephen the Tenth. He was then conducted with the same pomp to the palace of the La- teran. On the next da}-, all the cardinals, the clergy, and the people followed him to the church of St. Peter, where three bishops consecrated him with the usual ceremonie.«, and without waiting for the commissioners of the emperor. During the first four months which followed his election, Stephen held several councils to repress the disorders of the church, and to arrest the incontinence of priests ; he then went to Monte Cassino, for the purpose of ap- propriating to himself a part of the riches of the good fathers, who already possessed entire provinces, and were still occupied with fabri- cating false deeds for the purpose of augment- HISTORY OF THE POPES. 351 ing the immense domains of their monastery. Stephen sold the abbey to Didier, who, in the end, became pope ; he wished also to bring out from the cloisters, the venerable Peter Damian, by naming him bishop of OstJa, and fust of his cardinals, in order to attach to his See a man whose talents could be of great assistance to liim ] but as the holy monk re- fused all dignities, preferring the calm of re- treat to the turbulence of greatness, the pope ordered liim to assume the pastoral baton and to follow him to the palace of the Lateran, under penalty of excommunication. Peter obeyed ; he, however, always complained of the violence which had been done to him in drawing him from his monastery, as we find from one of his letters, addressed to the seven cardinal bishops of the church of the Lateran, whom he styles his brethren. The cardinal bishops were alone entitled to celebrate mass in the church of the palace j they called them also collaterals, because they were ordinarily by the side of the pon- tiff ; they also bore the title of weekly, because they officiated, in turn, each for a week. We cite a letter of Peter, as a precious document, which throws light upon the spirit of the church at that period : — '•' Ecclesiastical dis- cipline is everywhere abandoned ; the canons of the church are trampled under foot ; priests only labour to satisfy their cupidity, or to abandon themselves to incontinence. The duties of the episcopate only consist in wear- ing garments covered with gold and precious stones, in enveloping oneself in precious furs, in possessing race horses in the stables, ancl in sallying forth with a numerous escort of armed horsemen. Prelates should, on the contrary, set an example for the purity of their morals and all Christian virtues. Mis- fortunes turn on those who lead a condemna- ble life, and anathema on those who intrigue for the dignity of bishops for a guilty end ! Shame on ecclesiastics who abandon their country, follow the armies of kings, and be- come the courtiers of princes, to obtain, in their turn, the power of commanding: men, and of subjugating them to their sway ! These corrupt priests are more sensitive to terres- trial dignities than to the celestial recom- penses promised by the Saviour; and to obtain bishoprics, they sacrifice their souls and bo- dies. It would, however, be better for them openly to purchase the episcopal Sees, for si- mony is a less crime than hypocrisy. Their impure hands pre always open to receive pre- sents from the faithful ; their heads are always at work to invent new means of squeezing the people, and their viper-tongues are prodigal, by day and night, of flatteries to tyiants. — Thus i declare the bishops who have become the slaves of kings, three times simoniacal, and thrice damned !" The pope, desirous of pursuing his projects of reform, for the purpose of arresting the en- croachments of the monks, and of placing a rein on their insatiable avidity, reserved to himself, in the bargain he made with Didier, the free disposal of the immense revenues of his convent, which was richer than a king- dom. But, in order not to violate the canons too openly, he sent him to Constantinople, in the capacity of legate of the Holy See, and declared himself the treasurer of the monas- tery during the absence of the abbot. Didier went, accompanied by Stephen, a cardinal, and JMainard, bishop of St. Rufinus; these prelates, on arriving in the East, found that the schism had made profound ravages in the Greek church, and that Michael Ceruiarius, an ex- perienced man, had profiled by the favoura- ble circumstances which the w eakness of the regency had presented to Ids ambition. Stephen understood perfectly the situation of aflaii-s in the East; he knew that Ceruia- rius had obtained great privileges for his church, had augmented the wealth of his clergyji and placed all the priests beyond the jurisdiction of the oflicers of the empire ; he understood well that it was impossible to arrest the progress of the heresy, and to re- establish the authority of the Holy See in the imperial city; but the pretext was a specious one, and served to remove Didier, which ena- bled him to remain sole master of the im- mense treasures contained in the cellars of JMonte Cassino. His intention was to employ the wealth of the monks in subsidizing troops, and putting in execution the project which he had for a long time formed of giving the empire of the West to his brother Godfrey, and of excluiling the lawful heir, Henry the Fifth, king of Germany. Immediately after the departure of Didier, he ordered the priors and dignitaries of the monastery to send him immediately, the gold, silver, and precious ornaments intrusted to their care, menacing them, in case of a refusal, with suspending them from their functions, and with anathe- matizing them. The Jesuit Maimburg thinks that this action should leave no stain on the reputation for sanctity which the pontiif enjoy- ed at Rome ; but the chronicle of Monte Cas- sino is not of this opinion, and severely blames the pope for having formetl so sacrilegious a project. "However,"' adds the legend, "when the vehicles arrived at Rome, laden with the wealth of the abbey and escorted by the monks, 'the pope was suddenly seized with an holy terror, and after having heard the re- cital of a vision winch was communicated to him in confidence by the monk Andrew, he sent back the brethren with their treasures, and even gave tliem his benediction.'" It is probable that the threats of the monks were the only cause for this change in Ste- phen. After this check, the pope went to Tuscany to confer with his brother upon the means to be taken to commence the ■war against the empire ; but he had scarcely ar- rived in Florence, when he was suddenly at- tacked by a grievous malady, which carri'^d him offon the 29th of March, 1058. St. Hugh, the abbot of Ckiny, relates, that he assisted Stej)heji at his death, and, adds the pious monk, ■'I had all imaginable trouble to drive away the spirit of darkness, which wished to seize, in despite of me. upon the soul of the holy father. 352 HISTORY OF THE POPES. BENEDICT THE TENTH, THE ONE HUNDHED AND FIFTY- NINTH POPE. [4.. D. 1058.] Violent and simoniacal election of Benedict the Tenth — An archpriest is forced to consecrate him to escape death — Election of Nicholas the Second — Benedict lays down the tiara, and voluntarily abandons the Holy See. Stephen the Tenth, before his departure for Tuscany, had assembled the cardinals, and most iiitiuential members of the clergy, and had caused them to swear that, in case of his death, they v.'oald not nominate a suc- cessor until the return of the sub-deacon Hil- debrand, who had been into Germany on an affair of state. Thus this monk was to exer- cise in the council the functions of the Holy Spirit, and inspire the Romans in the choice of a sovereign pontiff. But the instructions of Stephen were despised; and on the very night in which his death was known at Rome, Gregory, the son of Alberic. count of Tuscu- ium, and Gerard of Galene, giving ear to their ambition alone, assembled the principal citi- zens in their palace, and proclaimed John Mincius, bishop of Veletri, their relative, as sovereign pontiff. Peter Damian, being desirous of conforming to the decree of Stephen the Tenth, opposed the ordination of the new pontiff, and pro- nounced an anathema on the seditious persons who had chosen Benedict to be the supreme head of the church. But his opposition pro- duced no result, and he was obliged to leave the palace of the Lateran to escape from the soldiers, who threatened to put to death those who should resist the will of the counts of Tuscanelia. An archpriest was conducted by force to the church of St. Peter, and con- strained, by a dagger at his breast, to conse- crate Benedict on the 5th of April, 1058. The new pontiff occupied the Holy See for about ten months. ' Whilst Rome had become the theatre of bloody wars, Didier. the abbot of the convent of Monte Cassino, and the two other legates sent to Constantinople by Stephen, returned from their mission, and disembarked at Bari, on the shores of the Adriatic. As soon as they learned the death of the pope, Didier quitted his escort, and went with great speed to Monte Cassino, in order to take at once the government of his rich monastery, and to prepare for new intrigues. He was put in possession of his abbey on Easter-day, by Cardinal Humbert, who had taken refuge in this pious retreat to escape the vengeance of the counts of Tuscanelia. The ambitious Hildebrand, in his pride, im- mediately left the court of the empress Agnes, and started to intrigue for the sovereign pon- tificate ; but on his arrival at Florence, he learned the election of Benedict. He at once wrote violent letters to the ecclesiastics and notables of Rome, reproaching them for the weakness they had shown in bending their heads beneath the yoke of the counts of Tus- canelia, and of allowing them to impose a pontiff upon them. He enjoined on them to drive Benedict from the Holy See, and to come to him in order to proceed to a regular election. A small number of prelates who regarded Benedict as a charitable pope, of extreme goodness and exemplary piety, par- doned his ignorance for the sake of his good qualities, and remained attached to his party; but some others were drawn off in hopes of enriching themselves under another reign; they sent in their adhesion to the sub-deacon Hildebrand, and approved, without restriction, of all that he should decide to be for the in- terest of the church. He immediately assem- bled the priests of his party, and ordered them to elect as sovereign pontiff the bishop Gerard, whom Henry the Fourth had himself desig- nated, when the Romans came to him to be- seech him to give them a pope of his choice. Gerard was consecrated by the name of Nicho- las the Second, and the church recognized two pontiffs I Peter Damian, being consulted by an arch- bishop as to who was the true pope whom they should obey, made this singular reply : "He who is now upon the Holy See was en- throned at night by troops of armed men, who caused him to be elected by distributing money among the clergy. On the day of his nomination, the patines, the holy pyxes, and the crucifixes from the treasury of St. Peter, were sold throughout the city. His election was then violent and simoniacal. He alleges in his justification, that he was forced to ac- cept the pontificate; and I would not affirm that it is not so : for our pope is so stupid, that it would not be at all extraordinary if he were ignorant of the intrigues which the counts of Tuscanelia have carried on in his name. He is guilty, however, for remaining in the abyss into which he has been cast, and for being ordained by an archpriest whose ignorance is so great, that he cannot read a line without spelling every syllable. Although the election of Nicholas the Second was not entirely regular, I would submit more wil- lingly to the authority of this pontiff, because he is sufficiently literary, possesses an active mind, pure morals, and is filled with charity. Still, if the other pope could compose a line, I will not say a psalm, but even an homilj', I would not oppose him, and would kiss his feet." HISTORY OF THE POPES. 353 Henry the Fourth gave orders to duke God- frey to accompany Nicholas the Second to Rome, and to drag the bishop of Veletri from the chair of St. Peter by force, if he were un- wilbng to leave it voluntarily. Before, how- ever, proceeding to violence, Gerard and Hil- debrand convoked a council at Sutri, to declare the anti-pope dispossessed and excommuni- cated if he should persist in maintaining himself upon the Holy See. Benedict, dis- covering that the counts of Tuscanella were not powerful enough to protect him agJiinst the arms of Duke Godfrey, resigned like a philosopher. He laid down the tiara, and re- tired 10 his house, abandoning the palace of the Lateran to the ambitious Nicholas. NICHOLAS THE SECOND, THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTIETH POPE. [A. D. 1058.J Enthronement of the pope — He takes off the excommunication pronounced against the anti-pope — Scandalous bargain between Nicholas and the abbot Didier — Deplorable state of the church — Council of Ronw — Decree against the simoniacs — Synodical letter of the pope — Perfidy of the pope towards Berenger of Tours— Berenger persists in his doctrines concerning the eucharist — Nicholas the Second cedes the province of Apulia to the Normans — Philip the First crowned King of France — Council of the Gauls — Death of the pope. As soon as John Mincius had abdicated the supreme dignity of the church, Nicholas the Second, accompanied by Godfrey and the car- dinals of his party, made his entry into Rome. He was received with great honours, and con- ducted to the palace of the Lateran. Some days after his enthronement, the anti-pope Benedict came to prostrate himself before him, protesting his devotion, and accusing himself of being sacrilegious, an usurper, and a per- jurer. Nicholas then took off the excommu- nication which had been pronounced against him, under the express condition that he should not leave the church of St. Maria INIa- jora. Benedict submitted j and the schism was terminated without causing any blood to flow in Rome. But the captains of quarters, who had been appointed during the preceding reigns, did not evince the same compliance in regard to the revenues of the Holy See, on which they had seized. They treated with contempt the de- crees of the new pope, and continued to col- lect the tenths of the clergy, under the pre- text that they could without crime despoil the church of money which it collected from the superstition and ignorance of the people. Nicholas, too weak to struggle against the leaders of the military, left them in possession of the revenues of Rome, and addres.sed him- self to the abbot of Monte Cassino, to obtain from him the sums which were necessary to satisfy the demands of the Italian clergy. Di- dier acceded to the demands of the pontifFj but in turn exacted from him the title of car- dinal priest of St. Cecilia. The bargain was concluded; and the next day Nicholas sur- rendered to him the revenues of the church of St. Cecilia. He further augmented the privileges of his monastery, and named him as his vicar for the reformation of all the con- vents of Campania, Apulia, and Calabria. Rome and Italy continued to be the scene Vol. I. 2U of frightful disorders. All the prelates, follow- ing the example of the pontiff, put up the holy orders at auction, and publicly adjudged them to the highest bidders, in order to regain for themselves, by this sacrilegious traffic, the money which they had given to obtain the episcopate. Besides, a luxury so scandalous was introduced into the church, that the revenues of the dioceses were no longer suffi- cient for the maintenance of the packs of hounds, equipages, minions, and courtezans, which filled the episcopal palaces. Nicholas, desirous of remedying these dis- orders, which infalliby presaged the ruin of the church, convoked a council in the holy city. Three hundred bishops assembled at Rome and took their seats in the palace of the Lateran. The pope thus opened the session: "You know, my brethren, how, after the death of Stephen, our predecessor, the Holy See was exposed to the deplorable in- trigues of simoniacs. In order to prevent such scandal in future, we order, in accordance with the authority of the fathers, that after the death of a pope, the cardinal bishops shall first deliberate upon, and choose a pontiff; they shall then call into the place of assembly the cardinal clerks, to hear their representa- tions; and finally, the rest of the clergy and the people shall come together to approve the nomination of the new head of the church. VVe .should, above all, have unceasingly be- fore us the remembrance of this sentence of the blessed Leo : 'We should not call bi.shop5 the ecclesiastics who are neither chosen by the clergy, nor demanded by the people^ nor consecrated by the prelates of the province, with the consent of tlie archbishop.' But, as there is no metropolitan to the Holy See, the cardinals shall fill his place; they shall give the preference, in the selection of a pontiff, to the Roman church, if it has a subject worthy to represent Christ upon earth ; if not, they 30* 354 HISTORY OF THE POPES. shall choose a stranger prelate, having chiefly regard for the wishes of our son Henry, who is now king, and who, if it pleases God, shall be emperor, as we have promised him. The same deference shall always be exhibited for the successors of this prince, who shall receive the imperial crown. "If the misfortunes of the times or the ty- ranny of faction shall prevent their proceeding to a free election in Rome, the cardinal bi- shops assisted by the principal dignitaries of the church, and by some laymen, shall be authorized to assemble in the city which they shall judge most convenient, and proclaim a new pope. If. after the consecration of the jjontitr, any obstacle shall oppose itself to his enthronement on the Holy See. according to the habitual usages and ceremonies, he shall be none the less regarded as the chief of the clergy; he shall govern the church, and dis- po.se of the property of St. Peter, as Gregory the Great himself did before his consecration. If any one is chosen, ordained, and enthroned in contempt of this decree, let him be anathe- matized and deposed, with all his accomplices, as antichrist, an usurper and destroyer of the Christian faith." Nicholas then made canons prohibiting the faithful from receiving mass from priests who lived openly with their concubines. With re- gard to simoniacs he added: -'As to those who have been ordained for mone)', our clem- ency permits them to pre.serve the dignities to which they have been promoted, because the multitude of these ecclesiastics is so great, that by observing the rigour of the canons with regard to them, we should leave almost all the churches without priests." After the council was terminated, the pope addressed synodical letters to the bishops and faithful of the Gauls, to announce to them the decisions of the assembly. He renewed the threats of excommunication against married or concubiaary priests, and against apostate clerks and monks who abandoned the church or their convents to embrace a laical life. He finally anathematized the soldiery, who de- stroyed the pilgrims and put unarmed priests to ransom. Thislast consideration is singular, and proves that the clergy carried on war. The pope terminated, by condemning to eter- nal fire the lords who violated the freedom of the churches within sixty paces of their cir- cuit, or within thirty paces of that of chapels. At this period, simple oratories were not so sacred as churches, and the more considerable the edifice, the greater was its sanctity. Nicholas at last caught Berenger, the illus- trious professor of Tours in a trap ; he invited him to Rome under the pretext of explaining to him his doctrine in regard to the eucharist ; but no sooner had he set foot in Italy than he was cast into prison, submitted to rigorous treatment and threatened with death by tor- ture, unless he consented to present to the pope an abjuration, signed with his own hand and conceived in these terms : " I, Berenger, an unworthy archdeacon of the church of St. Maurice of Angers, understanding the true Catholic faith, anathematize all heresies, and especially that which I have professed until now, by which I pretended to maintain that the bread and wine placed upon the altar during the holy sacrifice, were not after their consecration, but the sacrament, and not the true body and blood of Jesus Christ. I now agree with the holy Roman church and the apostolical See, and I profess the same faith, in regard to the sacrament of the altar, as Pope Nicholas. I believe that the bread and wine are, after their consecration, the true body and blood of Jesus Christ ; that they are touched and divided by the hands of the priest and the teeth of the faithful. I swear it by the holy Trinity, declaring those anathematized who combat this belief by their teaching or followers, and condemning myself with all the severity of the canons, if I shall ever re- voke the sentiments declared in this profes- sion of faith which I have read, meditated upon and willingly subscribed." Berenger signed this formula of abjuration, and burned, himself, in the presence of the pope and his council, the works which he had written upon the eucharist. Nicholas imme- diately sent the proceedings which contain- ed the solemn retraction of Berenger, to all the cities of Italy, Gaul, Germany, Spain, and England ; he then loaded him with honours and placed him at liberty, promising him the first bishopric vacant in Gaul. But the latter had no sooner entered France, than he protested against the oath which had been wrested from him by violence, and opposed himself more than ever to the tyranny of the Holy See. In fact Berenger was not an here- tic ) he did not say that the bread and wine lost their nature after the consecration by the priest ; he only maintained that Jesus Christ was not really present under the appearance of bread and wine, and that he was only ficti- tiously in the eucharist, because, affirmed he, God could not be transformed into bread and wine, nor could these substances become God. A century later, the celebrated Rupert recon- ciled these two contradictory ideas, by creating the system of impanation, which consists in saying, that the substance of the bread is not destroyed in the sacrament of the eucharist, but that the body of Jesus Christ is mixed with the consecrated bread. The holy father was not more successful in his projects against the Normans, than he had been in his cowardly persecution of the learn- ed Berenger. He was obliged to abandon the hope of expelling those terrible neighbours from Italy • he then changed his policy, and resolved to transform into defenders of the Holy See those who had been its most ardent enemies. For this purpose he went into Apulia, and convoked a council at the city of Melfa, to which the Normans sent their de- puties. Nicholas granted to Robert Guiscard, their chief, all Apulia and all Calabria, with the exception of Beneventum ; he gave the prin- cipality of Capua to Richard, and surrendered to him Sicily, of which he had already com- menced the conquest from the Saracens. The HISTORY OF THE POPES, 355 pope then took off the excommunication they had incurred under Leo the Ninth, anci per- mitted them to send their children to the col- leges of Rome. The Normans took the oath of fidelity to the Holy See, swore to arm in its defence, and personally engaged to pay the pontiff an annual revenue of twelve denarii, money of Pavia, for each pair of oxen that worked in his domains. Such was the commencement of the king- doms of Naples and Sicily, and the origin of the rights which the pontiff's claimed over them. The Holy See obtained considerable augmentation in its temporal affairs from the position of the Normans, who declared them- selves vassals of the pope, to prevent the em- peror from laying claim to a part of the pro- vinces they had seized, and to put an end to the invasions of the neighbouring lords, who could not declare war against them without exposing themselves to the thunders of the church. After this assembly was concluded, Nicholas ordered his new allies to as.semble their troops and ravage the territories of Pre- n£Estum, Tusculum and Nomento, whose in- habitants had revolted against the Holy See; then, still at the instigation of the pope, the Normans passed the Tiber, and carried fire and sword into the city of Galeria and all the castles of Count Gerard, to punish him for levying a tribute upon the pilgrims and bishops who traversed his domains on their way to the holy city. The Normans thus became the in- struments which the popes used to free the church from the petty lords who had for a long time tyrannized over it. Nicholas sent two legates into France, who assisted at the coronation of Phillip the First, the eldest son of King Henry, who was con- secrated by Gervais, the metropolitan of Rheims ; it is the first consecration of the kings of the third race, of which we have an authentic account. The embassadors, on this occasion, held several councils in France, and caused them to approve of the canons which had been brought from Rome for the purpose of arresting the simony and incontinence of the clergy. In England, Eldred, archbishop of York, taking advantage of the weakness of King Edward, had persuaded him, that in accord- ance with the custom of the Italian clergy, he was permitted to accumulate bishoprics and abbeys, and consequently revenues and large property were awarded to him; but his ava- rice having excited the general indignation, he was obliged to go to Rome, accompanied by bishops Gison of Ely and Walter of Hert- ford, and by Tostin, earl of Northumberland, brother-in-law of the king. The pope de- prived Eldred of all ecclesiastical dignity, not only because he was a simoniac, but also on account of his extreme ignorance, and grant- ed on the contrary to Gison and Walter, con- fiiTTiation in the episcopate. He loaded, be- sides with honours and presents. Earl Tostin, and seated him at his right hand in the assem- blies and festivals, up to the time when the pilgrims wished to return to their country. Unfortunately, on the day of their departure, when they were but a few miles from Rome, they were attacked by robbers, who took from them all they possessed, and left them nothing but indispensable clothitig. They immedi- ately retraced their steps, and traversed the holy city in a piteous plight, pursued by the shouts of the rabble, even to the palace of the Lateran. Earl Tostin, furious at this adventure, broke out into outrageous language against the pontiff. He accused him of having an understanding with the robbers to despoil pil- grims, and asked of him what was the power of his excommunications, if at the very gates of Rome, the Italian lords would despise them with impunity ; he threatened him with all the wrath of the king of England, and the sup- pression of Peter's pence, which the people of his kingdom had the stupidity to pay him. Nicholas, frightened by this last threat, hasten- ed to replace what had been stolen from the illustrious pilgrims. He even consented to bestow the pallium on Archbishop Eldred, in order to make a partizan of him ; and he sent a numerous escort to accompany them, and also legates instructed to apologize to King Edward for this unfortunate event. Some months afterwards the pope made a new journey to Florence, but he had scarcely arrived in that city, when a violent fever seized him and carried him off in a fev/ hours, at the beginning of the month of Jul}-, 1061. He was interred in the church of St. Raparaturs. Bishop Mainard exalts the great virtues of Nicholas, and affirms that he never passed a day without washing the feet of a dozen poor persons. Baronius adds, that it were better to feed these unfortunates than to parody the humanity of Christ by a ridiculous cere- mony. 356 HISTORY OF THE POPES. ALEXANDER THE SECOND, THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY- FIRST POPE. [A. D. 1061.] Struggles between the factions — Vacancy in the Holy See — The cardinals consecrate a pope — The new pontiff is enthroned by the name of Alexander the Second — The faction opposed to him send a deputation to the emperor — General diet at Basle — Election of an anti-pope. After the death of Nicholas, the clergy and the people, divided into two powerful factions, proceeded in the midst of the trou- bles and seditions to the election of a new pope. Hildebrand, that obstinate monk, whom we have seen, during the preceding reigns, seize upon the direction of all the political affairs of the Holy See. wished to profit by the decree of Nicholas in relation to the elec- tion of the popes, and to take away from the empire the right of choosing a chief of the church. The minority of King Henry appeared to him to be a favourable circumstance for break- ing the yoke of the emperors, and re-estab- lishing the electoral independence of the court of Rome. These sentiments were also enter- tained by the cardinals, and the large ma- jority of the bishops, whose interests were the same, and they all resolved to consecrate the new chief without submitting his nomi- nation to the approval of Prince Henry. But the counts of Tuscanella and Galeria, as well as the other lords of the opposite fac- tion, having different interests, undertook to re-seize upon the authority which they had lost during the pontificate of Nicholas. For this purpose they openly declared themselves the defenders of the rights of the prince, in- troduced soldiers into their palaces to intimi- date the clergy, and united with Cardinal Hugh, the commissioner of the emperor, pro- testing that they would oppose all efforts tend- ing to overthrow the prerogatives of the crown. Hildebrand, surprised by this formidable opposition, dared not proceed to the election of a pope; he, however, sent into Germany several embassadors carrying letters to the empress Agnes, to obtain authority to convoke a synod, and nominate a pontiff, in accordance with the new mode of election. The dele- gates returned from Germany, after an ab- sence of three months, without having been able to obtain an audience of the court, and having the seals of their letters unbroken. Hildebrand then resolved to go further, and took an energetic step; he brought into Rome Norman troops, commanded by the prince of Apulia; he then convoked the cardinals, and lords of his party, and proposed to the assembly the election of Anselmo, bishop of Lucca, as the sovereign pontiff. Prince Ro- bert Guiscard, and the abbot Didier, supported this motion; the council proclaimed Anselmo chief of the church, and on the ne.\t day the new pope was consecrated by the name of Alexander the Second. The counts of Tuscanella and Segni not being able to oppose his enthronment. imme- diately despatched embassadors to tKe king of Germany, and the empress, who were joined by those of Lombardy, whom Gilbert of Parma sent to Agnes. When the embassadors arrived in Germany, King Henry and his council decided, that on a subject of so much importance it was neces- sary to convoke a general diet. Almost all the German and Lombard prelates met at Basle, where the king was crowned anew in the presence of the lords and the bishops, who conferred on him the title of patrician of the Romans. The bishops of Verceil and Pla- cenza then brought charges against Alexander the Second, who had by his election openly violated the sacred rights of the king of Ger- many. They declared him deprived of the Holy See, and proposed as his successor, Ca- dalus or Cadalous Palavian, bishop of Parma, who was at once proclaimed sovereign pontiff. Three bishops consecrated him, and he im- mediately clothed himself with the pontifical ornaments. At this period there lived at the monastery of Luceola, in Ombria, a cenobite called St. Dominic the Mailed, who wore, instead of hair cloth, a breastplate of iron. The hermits of Luceola were eighteen in number; they drank nothing but water, and used no grease to season their food, and ate no flesh except on Sundays ; they fasted on bread and water the other six days, and passed all the night in prayer. They kept an absolute silence during the whole week, except on the Lord's day, between vespers and compline, when their rules authorized them to exchange some re- ligious words. St. Dominic not finding this discipline sufficiently rigorous, redoubled the rigidness of the fast ; he infhcted on himself cruel macerations ; during winter he slept on the frozen earth of his cell, with naked feel and legs, having no covering for his body but an iron shirt of mail, over which he put his cuirass ; he lacerated his face, neck, and legs, with rods and thorns; and it is re- lated that on one evening he presented his bleeding body before the abbot, and cast himself at his feet, exclaiming, "my father, I accuse myself of having lived as a carnal man ; impose upon me a severe penance." The venerable abbot sought to calm the vio- lent grief of the monk, and asked him if he had eaten eggs or cheese ]" " No, my father, replied he in wrath, nor fish nor fruit ; I leave them to the sick; but I have eaten fennel HISTORY OF THE POPES. 357 seed with my bread." Strange aberration of the human mind. Dominic recited, daily, twelve psalms, twenty-four times in succession, with his arms extended like a cross, and he added the canticles, hymns, creed of St. Athanasius, and the litanies. Some years before his death, having discovered, by an experiment, that leathern thongs were rougher than rods, he habituated himself to this new discipline. His macerations, and the use of his coat of mail, had rendered his skin as black as that of a negro. He even wore beneath his cuirass, eight iron rings, which he drew together with buckles until they penetrated the flesh. This frightful penance did not prevent his attaining an extreme old age ; he died in the year 10G2, and was interred in his cell with his cuirass and coat of mail. We have cited this re- markable example in order to show the ex- cess of fanaticism. HONORIUS THE SECOND, POPE OR ANTI-POPE. [A. D. 1061.] Vices of the neiv pontiff — Pope Alexander flies from Rome — The forcible removal of the empe- ror— The empress Agnes is deposed by Alexander the Second — Schism of Florence — Council of Rome — The embassy of Damian to Florence — Proof by fire — Peter Aldobrandin miracu- lously traverses the flames of a burning pyre — Consequences of the schism of Florence — Coun- cil of Mantua — Honorius the Second enters Rome — He is betrayed by Cencius, who retains him prisoner in the castle of St. Angela — The anti-pope is forced to quit Rome in the dress of a pilgrim — His decUh. The new pontiff, whom several chroniclers designate by the name of anti-pope, was a concubinary, and had already been condemn- ed for the crimes of extortion and adultery in the councils of Pavia, Mantua, and Milan. When Peter Damian was apprized of the election of Honorious, he addressed the fol- lowing letter to him : — '' Until now, my bro- ther, the witnesses of your bad conduct were the inhabitants of a single city in Italy. Now your crimes will be published throughout all Italy, France, England, Spain, and Germa- ny.... " Cadalous, without disquieting him- self about the discontent, occupied himself in raising an army for the purpose of entering the holy city by force • he first bought up the partizans of Alexander, then through their medium he carried on communication with the city, and on a day agreed upon, he sud- denly presented himself at the gates of Rome at the head of his troops. Alexander, abandoned by his party, who had almost all of them sold themselves to his enemy, immediately quitted the palace of the Lateran and embarked on the Tiber, in order to go by sea to Germany, for the purpose of bringing back with him Duke Godfrey and the vassals of his domains. The ambitious duke permitted himself to be seduced by hopes of receiving the imperial crown from the pope ; he hastily assembled his troops and marched on Rome to combat the bands of Ho- norius, who were then encamped in the mea- dows of Nero, near the Vatican. On his side, Didier abbot of Monte Cassino, had distributed immense sums of money in the absence of the holy father, and had rallied the Romans around him to repulse the attacks of Honorius; but having made a sortie upon the camp of the anti-pope, which he hoped to carry by surprise, he was vigorously repulsed and his troops were cut to pieces. Honorius made a frightful massacre of them ; he pur- sued the fliers up to the very gates of Rome, when Godfrey arrived ; this latter charged the flank of the army of Honorius with his veterans and routed it. The anti-pope him- self fell into the power of his enemies, but by promise of a large ransom, he induced the officers who guarded him, to set him at liber- ty. He then retired to the city of Parma. where, notwithstanding his defeat, he pre- served the title of pope, in hopes of remount- ing the throne of the church. Master of the ground, Alexander followed up actively the criminal plots into which he had entered in Germany with Anon archbi- shop of Cologne, for the purpose of placing the imperial crown on the head of Godfrey. By his orders. Anon invaded the dwelling of the young king Henry, at the head of an armed band, and carried him off, notwithstanding his entreaties and his tears, and conducted him to the episcopal palace. He then con- vened a general diet, in which he made them confer the government of the empire upon him during the minority of Henry ; he solemn- ly confirmed the election of Pope Ale.xander, and condemned that of Cadalous as being opposed to the laws of the church. Finally, the empress was deposed from the regency and condemned to make a pilgrimage to Ra- venna, to ask pardon for her crimes from the sovereign pontiff. Agnes obeyed, and cast herself at the feet of the holy father, beseech- ing him, with tears, to prescribe a penance for her. to conceal from Christ the numerous sins which she had committed. Alexander showed himself very indulgent to the faults of the beautiful penitent : it is even related that he became desperately enamoured of her, and that he gave to her the 358 HISTORY OF THE POPES. government of a convent situated near the church of ihe apostle, where she lived for fif- teen years. She was canonized after her death,' doubtless because the priests found her sanctified by her amours with a pope. At the same period, Florence became the theatre of violent seditions, which broke out between the bishop of the city and John Gual- bert, abbot of the new community of Valam- brosa. This monk maintained that the bishop, being a simoniac, and consequently an here- tic, could not administer the sacraments nor ordain priests. In his furious zeal, he tra- versed the streets of Florence with his monks, proclaiming that the bishop Peter was a wretch soiled with every crime, and that the people should drive out this unworthy priest from the temple of the Lord. Peter, in order to put a stop to the declama- tions of these fanatics, and to strike them with fear, went to the monastery of Valam- brosa with armed men, seized the most exci- ted monks, and after having despoiled them of their garments, whipped them with rods. The monks no longer dared to leave their convent, but they sent secrstly, embassadors to Rome, to ask for the convocation of a coun- cil, in order that they might denounce Peter of Pavia as a simonfac, a concu binary, and a murderer, offering even to walk in an heated brazier to show the truth of their accusations. In these troublous times, the pope not daring to expose himself to the discontents of the bishops, refused to listen to the complaint of the monks, and made the following decree : " In accordance v/ith the canons of the synod of Chalcedon, we order monks, how virtuous soever they may be, never to exhibit their sanctity in public ; and in conformity with the rule of St. Benedict, to remain always con- fined in their cloisters ; finally, we prohibit them, under penalty of anathema, from ever appearmg in castles and cities, even when they shall be sent for by the lords or the people." After the termination of the council, he sent the cardinal, Peter Damian, to Florence, for the purpose of appeasing the m.urmurs of the people. In one of his discourses this eccle- siastic represented to the people, that they were guilty of culpable presumption in wish- ing to depose a bishop, who was not con- demned, nor even juridically accused, but only suspected by insubordinate monks whom he wished to restrain in their duties, and he persuaded them to reject the councils of the fanatical abbot of Valambrosa. But this sage advice only increased the disorder. St. John Gualbert sallied forth at the head of his com- munity, and came even to the residence of Damian, whom he charged with outrages, treating him as an ambitious person, a simo- niac, and a murderer. He called upon the people to take up arms, in order to drive out the bishop and his unworthy supporter. On his side, Peter prepared to resist by force the armed bands which traversed Florence, threat- ening to burn the city, and murder the parti- zans of the bishop. At length Duke Godfrey took vigorous measures to put an end to the tumult ; he threatened to hang the monks to the trees of their abbey, if they did not promptly retire to their solitude. This threat was completely- successful ; tranquillity was not, however, en- tirely re-established among the people ; and on the next day a great crowd went to the monastery of St. Saviour, to beseech the monks to restore peace to the city, by submit- ting to the judgment of God, and by travers- ing an inflamed pyre as they had proposed to the sovereign pontiff. The monks joyfully consented to submit to this terrible proof, and named the Wednesday of the first week in Lent, in the year 1063, as the day for this ex- traordinary ceremony. Peter Aldobrandin, a monk of great sanc- tity, was designated as chosen by God to re- present the community in this solemn affair. On the day agreed upon, two great pyres, each thirty paces long by ten feet high, were erect- ed, between which was left a small path three feet wide, filled with small wood, extremely dry, and so disposed as to be soon reduced to burningcoals. The brethren went in procession to a church near to the place where the pyre was raised ; Peter Aldobrandin celebrated a solemn mass, after which the monks advanced in two ranks, with the cross at their head and candles in their hands. They walked around the pyres, singing canticles, and set them on fire. The wood, mixed up with branches of the vine and dried fagots, immediately took fire, and the heat became so great that the monks were obliged to quit the places which they occupied. The innumerable multitude which assisted at this spectacle, saw Aldobrandin approach alone these burning pyres, lay down the chasuble with which he had celebrated the divine mysteries, and advance towards them, holding in one hand a cross, and in the other a pocket-handkerchief to wipe off the svveat which covered his forehead. When he had arrived at the path, which separated the two fire.'!, and which was full of burning coals aa high as his knees, he stopped and made the sign of the cross. The people were in solemn contemplation ! ! One of the monks then ad- dressing the crowd, summoned the citizens, the clergy, and the nobles to swear to aban- don the cause of the bishop, if their brother should come forth safe and sound from this horrid proof; all swore to do so. Aldobrandin immediately thundered forth a religious song, beseeching God to preserve him in the midst of the flames, as he had before preserved from every evil the three young men, his prophets, in the furnace of Babylon. " Then," adds Baroniu.s, " were seen his naked feet between the two embracing pyres, from which immense whirlwinds of flames escaped, in the midst of which he walked majestically, as if he had been upon roses in a beautiful alley, garnished with flowers, and refreshed by a breeze whose breath was tempered by the heat of the sun. The waving flames appeared to be miraculously driven into the folds of his alb^ HISTORY OF THE POPES. 359 which they distended like a veil, rendering it of a more shining whiteness than that of snow; they caused the fringe of his maniple. the extremities of his stole, his hair and his beard to wave without leaving any trace. It was remarked, says the historian, that when Aldobrandin entered the pyre, the fire lost the devouring energy of its heat, and only pre- served its brilliant light, to lighten the triumph of the holy monk. When he had arrived at the other end, Aldobrandin perceived that he had dropped his handkerchief in the midst of the path; he tranquilly retraced his steps, picked up his handkerchief, and came forth radiant from the pyres. The assistants im- mediately thundered forth praises to God ; and having raised Akiobrandin upon their shoul- ders, they bore him in triumph to his monas- tery' 01 St. Saviour. The moiik.s then sent to the pope a statement of this marvellous event, and' besought him to name a new pre- late in the place of the unworthy bishop who had been condemned by the judgment of God." ■ Maimburg affirms that this fabulous ad- venture was witnessed in so authentic a way. that we cannot doubt it- Alexander the Second, however, who probably understood the secret of traversing the flames, still re- jected their demand, and replied, like a skilful politician, that he did not doubt the exactitude of a miracle performed in the presence of a whole city, and which was confirmeil by the attestations of the monk.s, the grandees, the clergy, and the magistracy ; and that, besides, he could not contest its reality without bring- ing discredit on religion, in the eyes of the faithful; that he congratulated the venerable abbot on possessing in his convent a monk whose sanctity had merited from God so shining a mark of his protection. He added, that after this decided manifestation, he would already have deposed the bishop of Florence, if this latter person had not written to him that he was equally willing to undergo the proof by fire, engaging to perform the miracle in the same place and in the same maimer as St. Aldobrandin. '"'But I was unwilling to grant him this favour." said the holy father, " from fear lest God, in performing a second miracle, should take away from you the glory which your monastery has acquired. We have been even rigorous towards Bishop Peter, and we have ordered him to absent himself from Florence for some months. We could not, however, suspend him from his episcopal functions after having refused to submit him, in his turn, to the judgment of God. We ex- hort you, then, for the interest of your com- munity, to calm your people, and prepare yourselves worthily to receive your bishop on his return." The monks, fearing lest a new trial might expose their knavery, hastened to publish that the bishop had amendeil, and that Jesus Christ had pardoned him at the prayer of Aldobrandin. This holy monk, who was afterwards called Pelrus Igneus, or Peter of the Fire, was ex- tremely ignorant, and filled, in his convent, the duties of cowherd. He was now named abbot of another monastery ; and when Car- dinal Hildebrand became pope, he made him cardinal bishop of Albano, m order to avail himself of the credit which he had acquaed in Italy since his famous miracle. The anti-pope Cadalous still maintained himself at Parma, and by means of his in- trigues, he even brought into his party Duke Godfrey, the first cause of his expulsion from Rome. This prince, discontented with the tar- diness of Alexander, who had not fulfilled the promise which he had made him of placing on his head the imperial crown, resolved to conduct Honorius to the holy city, and to en- throne him sword in hand. Peter Damian, advised of the projects of the duke of Lor- raine, addressed an energetic letter to him, exhorting him to abandon his projects of re- volt against Pope Alexander. At the same time, "the archdeacon Hddebiand wrote to King Henry, or rather to Archbishop Anon, that he was declared regent of the kingdom. He warned the court of Germany of the am- bitious designs of Godfrey, of his alliance with Cadalous, and added : -The royal and sacer- dotal power are united in Jesus Christ, in heaven. They should equally form an indis- .soluble alliance upon earth; lor each has need of the assistance of the other to rule the peo- ple. The priesthood is protected by the strength of royalty, and royalty is aided by the influence of the priesthood. The king bears the sword to strike the enemies of the church ; the pope bears the thunders of ana- thema to crush the enemies of the sovereign. Let the throne and the church then unite, and the whole world will be subjected to their law !" Anon fearing to lose the sovereign power, if the duke of Lorraine obtained the empire, determined to go to Rome to condemn Hono- rius by a general council, in order that he should no longer have the right to consecrate an emperor. He immediately left Germany, traversed Lombaidy and Tuscany, and ar- rived in the holy city without having fore- warned the holy lather of his visit. In the first interview, the archbishop sharp- ly apostrophized the pope, and asked him why he had accepted the pontificate v> ilhout the order and consent of the king, vho alone had the right to nominate the pontifl's. But the archdeacon Hildebrand, and the bishops who were present, denied this pretension, and replied to the metropolitan, that by the canons, temporal sovereigns had no rights whatever over the election of the popes. In support of their assertion, they cited nume- rous decretals, and several passages from the fathers. Anon, according to Damian, yielded to this view; he recognized the cardinals alone as having power to choose the popes; and he engaged, in the name of Henry the Fourth, to recognize Alexander as the head of the church, if the holy father would con- sent to justify himself, in a council, from the crime of simony, of which he had been ac- cused. 360 HISTORY OF THE POPES. All the prelates of Rome and Lombardy were invited to go to Mantua, where this synod was to be held. Alexander, defended by Peter Dannian, was pronounced innocent, and Honorius the Second was condemned as a simoniac and concubinary by this assem- bly. The ecclesiastical thunders did not, how- ever, terrify the intrepid Cadalous. When the archbishop of Cologne quitted Italy, he ap- proached the walls of Rome, gained over the captains who guarded the city, distributed money to their soldiers, and penetrated as far as the city Leonine, on which he seized dur- ing the night. On the news of this sudden attack, the car- dinals caused all the bells to be rung, called the people to arms, opened the store rooms of the church, and led the populace, furious and gorged with wme, before the church of St. Peter. The soldiery of Honorius were so frightened, that they escaped from the tem- ple, leaving Honorius almost alone to the mercy of the party of Ale.^ander. But at the m.oment when the doors of the church were about to yield to the efforts of the assailants, Cencius, the son of the prefect of Rome, came to the aid of Honorius with'his guards, over- threw the besiegers, carried him off from the city Leonine, and conducted him to the castle of St. Angelo. Scarcely had Cadalous shut himself up in the fortress, than the troops of Alexander, recovering from their first sur- prise, invested the castle and formed its siege, but uselessly. . The deceitful Cencius kept him his prisoner for two years. Instead of being the protector of Honorius, as he had promised him, he be- came his jailer, threatening him daily to give him up to the pontiff Alexander, in order to extract mdney from him, whilst on the other side, he exacted large sums from the holy father by threatening him with allowing his competitor to escape. Finally, Honorius having privately procured the garments of a pilgrim, escaped during the night and reached the village of Baretta, from whence he came to Parma. He continued to exercise episcopal functions in this city ; con- secrated bishops, composed bulls, and ex- communicated Alexander the Second, but he had not the satisfaciton of overthrowing his competitor. A severe sickness, brought oa by the privations and bad treatment which Cencius had inflicted on him, led him to the tomb towards the close of the year 1066. Most ecclesiastical authors designate Cada- lous by the name of anti-pope, not on account of the irregularity of his election, for they avow, that that of Alexander was not canoni- cal, and that both were intruders on the Holy See, but on account of the corruption of his morals. We blame this extraordinary seve- rity : for if we were only to count in the ranks of lawful popes, those who have been virtu- ous, we should reduce the successors of St. Peter to so small a number, that the adorers of the Roman purple would be annihilated ! ! ALEXANDER THE SECOND, BECOME SOLE POPE. [A. D. 1066.] Sect of the incestuous — Abuse of excommunications — Troubles at Milan — Alexander introduces the Latin instead of the Mozarabic ritual into Spain — Discussio7is between the emperor Henry and the pontiff — The latter sells absolutions — Revolutions in England — The pontiff makes a constitution for Great Britain — The right of tenths attributed to the archbishop of Mayence — The pope cites the emperor to appear at Rome to be judged — Death of Alexander. "This contempt of ecclesiastical thunders, came" says Damian, " of the abuse which the popes made of this terrible punishment. In all the decretals they pronounced the pe- nalty of anathema against those who shall refuse to submit to the orders of the pontiffs j which sends to hell an infinite number of Christian souls, before they have perceived the fault which they have committed. This is to spread snares for those who believe they are walking in safety. In the secular tribu- nals the punishment is proportionate to the crime, by imprisonment, the confiscation of property, or simply a fine ; but in the church, for the least disagreement, one is separated from God even ; which is to suppose with the Stoics, that all sins are equal. St. Gregory, and the first pontiffs did not so act; they only pronounced anathemas in matters of faith. Let us then follow their example, and place Whilst the pontiff Honorious and his com- petitor were disputing for the throne of St. Peter, great troubles were agitating Italy on the subject of marriages prohibited by the church, in the different degrees of consan- guinity, and which the secular laws, however, permitted. Alexander having convoked a council to decide this important question, the assembly composed of bishops and lawyers, after having for a long time examined the canon and civil laws, decided that the de- grees of relationship should be counted in ac- cordance with the old custom of the church, and prohibited, under penalty of anathema, that marriages should be entered into by re- latives within the seventh generation. Not- withstanding this ridiculous decision, made by the Holy See, the Italians continued to fol- low the usages of the provinces, from whence arose a sect called the sect of the incestuous. HISTORY OF THE POPES, 861 in our decretals a pecuniary fine, or some other penalty against the transgressors of the laws of the Holy See." The wise counsels of Damian were not listened to. and popes continued to inundate the kingdoms with their bulls of excommuni- cation. After the death of his competitor, Alexander pursued with bitterness the eccle- siastics who had embraced the party of Ca- dalous, and left them no truce nor repose until they had submitted to his authority. Duke Godfrey him.self was obliged to seek again the alliance of the pontiff, and in order to induce him to forget the protection which he had granted to Honorius, he consented to declare war against the Normans, who in contempt of treaties had seized upon several places in the states of the church. This war was soon terminated; Godfrey, after some skirmishes, drove this people be- fore him, as far as the environs of Aquina ; as they found themselves shut up in the moun- tains, unable to continue their retreat, and not daring to give battle to so powerful an enemy, they sued for peace, offering to restore to the pope all the domains which they had usurped, and to pay a lai*;e sum to defray the expenses of the war. These conditions were accepted, and Godfrey returned to his dutchy with the blessing of the holy father. Some troubles then broke out in Milan, occasioned by the violent declamations of the monk St. Arialdus, who, in imitation of Aldo- brandin, publicly accused Guy, his metropo- litan, of adultery and sodomy, in order to depose him from his See. Arialdus. insti- gated by Pope Alexander and the cardinals, who had ordered him to resist with violence the enemies of Jesus Christ or his vicar, urged on the people to revolt, and came himself at the head of a furious troop to besiege the episcopal palace; but Guy hav- ing penetrated the secret intentions of the pontiff, who wished to substitute his own authority for his, took energetic measures. He sallied forth with his men-at-arms, seized the monk and bestowed upon him the crown of martyrdom, by beheading him. After this execution^ quiet was restored; but the archbishop fearing new disorders, de- termined to send a letter of submission to the pope, which he accompanied with rich pre- sents. The gold was all-powerful over the mind of Alexander ; not only did the embas- sador obtain for Guy the approval of the holy father for the severity which he had di.s- played during these troubles, but he even sent him back with two legates, Mainard, cardinal bishop of St. Rufinus, and John, a cardinal priest, who bore the pallium to the archbishop of Milan. The deputies then publi.shed this singular constitution : '•' The clergy and laity who took an oath to us to repress the deplorable disor- ders of the clergy of Milan, and who, under this laudable pretext, have burned, pillaged, violated and massacred the inhabitants of the city and country, shall be glorified in heaven, but we prohibit them from doing so in future. Vol. I. 2 V They .should live in accordance with Christian morality, and bring their guilty before their archbishop, the canons of their churches, or the other suffragans. As the majority are more afflicted by temporal than eternal punish- ments, we condemn those who shall infringe this decree, if they are of the clerical order, to pay to the holy father an hundred livres of pennies, and we pronounce them under inter- dict until they shall have paid the fine. If they are nobles, we condemn them to pay twenty livres ; if they are peasants, they shall pay ten ; traders, five, and others in propor- tion,— the whole for the profit of the Holy See." Alexander, following the example of his predecessor, wished to extend his dominion over all the churches, and sent into Spain, with the title of legate, the cardinal Huph the White, who was instructed to introduce into the kingdom of Arragon the Latin in place of the Mozarabic ritual, which was in use throughout the whole peninsula. Hugh then went into Aquitaine. He convoked a council at Auch, and caused this assembly to confirm the independence of the convent of St. Orens, a privilege which the monks had bought with large sums. From thence he went to Tou- louse, where he held another synod. The fathers who composed this assembly pro- nounced diverse judgments against simoniacs, re-established the church of Leitoure, which had been converted into a monastery, and swore a blind obedience to the pontiff. In the following year ( 1068) a division broke out between the altar and the throne. The emperor Henry, wearied by the misconduct of Bertha, resolved to repudiate her. He in- formed the archbishop of Mayence of it, who approved of his determination, and wrote to the pope for a confirmation of the dissolution of his marriage; or asking him to give such power to legates, who should go to Mayence in order to pronounce upon the matter. Peter Damian was chosen by the sovereign pontiff to represent him in Germany ; but, instead of giving the consent of the holy father to the emperor, he prohibited him from separating from his adulterous spouse ; and even deposed the metropolitan of Mayence, because, of his own authority, he had consented to a separa- tion, of which the pope was the sole dispenser. Henry, informed of the hostile dispositions of Damian, quitted Mayence, and prepared to return to Saxony; but his favourites repre- sented to him that he would act with want of foresight in thus rudely dissolving an assem- bly composed of the first lords of his king- dom, and that he should avoid increasing the number of malcontents if he wished to obtain a separation from the empress. The prince approved of their advice, and went to Frank- ford, where he convened a new synod. The fathers having re-assembled. Peter Da- mian, in the name of Alexander, spoke thus: '■Your conduct, my lord, towards your chaste spouse, Bertha, is unworthy not only of a so- vereign, but even of a Christian. Take care, prince, how you brave the divine and human 31 362 HISTORY OF THE POPES. laws which condemn you. Ronne has terrible arms which will prevent the example of your conduct from perverting her subjects, and which will shake your imperial authority to its very foundations. I command you to con- form to the supreme orders of the pontiff; otherwise you will force us to employ the se- verity of the canons against you, and to take from you that imperial crown of which you have shown yourself unworthy, by betraying the cause of religion." The bishops applaud- ed this discourse, and declared that the pope acted wisely, and that they would sustain his decision. Henry rose in great agitation, and replied to them : '■ Since the pope orders it, I will do violence to my own feelings, and bear the load of adultery for the edification of my people." The pontiff, who showed himself so irritable on a question of divorce, did not manifest the same rigour in his other judgments. Thus, Herman, bishop of Bamburg, who had been excommunicated by the Holy See, for the crimes of simony and incest, authentically proved upon him, continued to exercise his episcopal functions, notwithstanding the ana- thema which he had incurred. Alexander, informed of this circumstance, wrote to the metropolitans Annon and Sigefroy, to appear at Rome with Herman, in order that he might be condemned a second time by a council. The prelates obeyed ; but the guilty bishop took care to bring with him large sums of money, which soothed the anger of the pope ; and not only did Alexander re-mstate him in his dignity, but he even granted to him the pallium and all the privileges attached to archiepiscopal Sees. Lambert of Schaferburg relates, that in a great festival given by the holy father to the three prelates, when the fumes of generous wine had clouded his reason, he declared that he, did not regard simony as a crime; and that, if he deposed simoniacal or concubinary priests, it was for the purpose of selling absolu- lution to them ; that on the other hand, he much approved of those bishops who had mistresses, and knew how to increase their treasures. Some years before these events, a great revolution took place in England. William the Bastard, duke of Normandy, had con- quered that island. Alexander hastened to send a standard which he had blessed to the usurper, with a bull of investiture, which dis- possessed Harold the legitimate king. Wil- liam, from gratitude to the Holy See, or rather, in consequence of a compact with the court of Rome, augmented the tax of St. Peter, and doubled the tithes which the people paid to the clergy. He also sent to the pope a large quantity of gold and silver money, sacred vases, and the standard of King Harold, on which was embroidered an armed man, cover- ed with armour of precious stones. Legates and Italian monks soon came to avail themselves of this new conquest, and to extend the pontifical sway over all the churches. Rapin affirms, " that they carved and dipt ecclesiastical matters as they pleas- ed." Lanfranc was named metropolitan of Canterbury, Thomas archbishop of York, and both went to Rome during the following year to make their submission to the pope. Alex- ander, as a recompense for their zeal, gave them the pallium, and overwhelmed them with honours, especially Lanfranc, before whom he rose deferentially, adding, " I do not render you this honour, my brother, be- cause you are archbishop of Canterbury, but because I was your disciple in the monastery of Bee." He gave the prelates a letter for William the Bastard, in which he was prodi- gal of the most extravagant eulogies on that prince, he thus concluded it, " We entreat you to follow the councils of Lanfranc for the inter- ests of the church, for we have granted to him all the authority of the Holy See over the ecclesiastical affairs of England. We autho- rize him to preserve the monks in the cathe- drals, and we prohibit the clergy from em- ploying the aid of the secular power, to drive away the monks from St. Saviour of Canter- bury, and the other metropolitan churches." But whilst the pontiff was disposing at will of the kingdom and church oLEngland, Henry the Fourth, irritated against the Holy See, and the bishops who had constrained him to live with Bertha, his adulterous wife, took his ven- geance on the unfortunate people for the out- rages which he had received. The prince surrounded all the cities of Saxony and Thu- ringia with fortresses, and after having placed numerous garrisons in these ca.stles, he organ- ized the pillage of the provinces. By his orders the troops ravaged the country, violated girls and women, burned the farm-houses and ma.ssacred the cultivators. For the purpose of justifying these vio- lences, Sigefroy, metropolitan of Mayence, advised the king to decree, by a council, that sovereigns were permitted to sell or murder their subjects when they could no longer pay the imposts. This frightful assembly was convened at Erford for the 10th of March 1073, and the priests dared to declare that God authorized kings to massacre the people, when they refused to pay imposts or tithes. Notwithstanding this abominable decision, some Saxon nobles united with the citizens of Thuringia. and remonstrated with the king, threatening to appeal to the Holy See. Henry, exasperated by this opposition, burst out into an excess of rage, and in the midst of his im- precations, sv.?ore, that if any of his subjects had the boldness to write to Rome, he would put him to death by the most horrid punish- ments, and would cover the provinces wiih so great disasters, that they would be remem- bered for many years. Two courageous men, however, informed the Holy See of the exac- tions of which they were the victims. Alex- ander immediately v/rote to the prince to come to Rome to be judged by a council ; but the holy father did not live long enough to finish this matter; he died suddenly, on the 20th of April 1073, after having held the Holy See for eleven years and a half. Alexander contributed much to augment HISTORY OF THE POPES, 36$ the wealth of the church, by instituting the ofTeriii^' of the first fruits, au impost imitated from the Mosaic law, which commanded the Jews to give to the priests the first fruits of their trees, and the first born of their flocks. This pontifT, if we can believe William of Poictiers, was eloquent, well informed and worthy to rule the universal church; he cites some of his decisions, which are remarkable for their wisdom. For example, the holy father prohibited a married man from entering upon a monastic life without the consent of his wife, because her husband had no right to force her to continence, if she was unwil- Hng to submit to it. Leo and Desiderius represent Alexander as a pope of great sanctity, and endowed with the gift of miracles. " He freed," they add, '• from the spirit of evil, a monk of JNIonte Cassino ; and one day, a lame woman having drunk some drops of water in which he had washed his hands, was miraculously cured." GREGORY THE SEVENTH, THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY- SECOND POPE. [A. D. 1073.] History of Gregory before his advent to the throne of St. Peter— He is surprised in adultery with a youns serving girl of his monastery — The election of Htldcbrand the poisoner of popes— Por- trait of Gregory the Seventh— Letter from the holy faiher to Didier, abbot of Monte Cassino — Singular actions of the pope — His trickeries in the affairs of Germany — Henry refuses per- mission to the legates of the Holy See, to hold a council in his kingdom — Project of the first crusade— The pope embroils himself with the French court— Letters of Gregory to the French bishops— Revolt of the concubinary priests-King Henry treats the thunders of the pope with contempt— Conspiracy against the pontiff— Gregory is deposed from the Holy See— Letter of Henry the Fourth against the pope — Gregory deposes the king of Germany— The pontiff is excommunicated by a council — Letter of the holy father on the excommunication of kings- Henry is abandoned by his subjects — Machiavelism of the pope— He causes Beatrice, his mis- tress, to be strangled in a debauch — Scandalous amours of the countess Matilda and Gregory — Henry is reduced to the last extremities by the excommunication of the Holy See^He goes into Italy— The countess Matilda poisons her husband — the pope escapes to Canossa with his mistress —Cowardice of the king of Germany— Lidignation of the Lombards— Henry prepares for war against the pontiff"— Rudolph of Suabia is chosen king of Germany by the legates of Gre- gory—Complaints of the Germans against the pope — Council of Rome— Retraction of Beren- ger — The pope excommunicates and" deposes the king of Poland — He ivishes to force the king of England to do homage to the Holy See — The pontiff is deposed from the Holy See, and Gui- bert of Ravenna nominated in his stead — Accusation of magic against Gregory — Warlike resolves of the holy father. King Henry gains a brilliant victory over Rudolph of Suabia — False prophecy of the holy father — The countess Matilda devotes herself for the pope her lover — Henry besieges Rome and seizes the holy city through treason — Attempt on the life of the pope— Robert Guiscard saves the pontiff— Death of Gregory the Seventh— His political maxims — History of religion during his pontificate. At length the ambitious Hildebrand, that fanatical monk, that poisoner of popes, whom we have seen struggling obstinately against all temporal powers, mounted the chair of St. Peter, after having buried eight pontiffs, who were the instruments of his policy and the victims of his ambition. He was an Italian by birth — his father, named Banizon, was a carpenter at Rome ; his mother carried on an incestuous intercourse with her brother, the abbot of the monastery of Our Laily on Mount Aventine; and some authors atfirm, that Hil- debrand was the fruit of their amours. He was brought up by his uncle, who took great pains with hi.s education, and when he had attained his fifteenth year, he was sent into France to continue his studies in the celebra- ted abbey of Cluny. Some years afterwards, his education being completed, Hildebrand resolved, before re- turning to Rome, to visit the court of the em- peror Henry the Black, for the purpose of preaching there the word of God. His ser- mons were so successful, that the most learn- ed bishops of the age left their dioceses to come to listen to him. On the rumour of this renown, Leo the Ninth hastened to recall him into Italy, and attached him to his person in the capacity of a counsellor. He also gave him the monastery of St. Paul, which was in a deplorable state, and the church of which was used as a stable. The monks of this abbey instead of fulfilling their religious duties, were occupied in debauchery, and lived publicly with courtezans, whom they had introduced into the convent, and who served in the re- fectory. HiU'iebrand, a skilful priest, at first exhibited great rigidity of morals; he reformed abu!=es, restored the rigour of discipline, and wished to drive from the convent the women whom, he found there, but having been surprised 364 HISTORY OF THE POPES. himself in adultery with one of the handsom- est serving girls, he was obliged, in order to avoid a scandal which would have unmasked his hypocrisy, to review his first decision and authorize the monks to keep women in the convent. The reason which he gave to the holy father in explanation of this change in his ideas was, that he had discovered that they understood domestic economy and order better than the brethren. After the death of Leo, his successor, Ni- cholas, elevated Hildebrand to the rank of archdeacon of the Roman church, and granted him great authority over the clergy. Other pontiffs also employed him near to kings and princes, in the capacity of embassador from the Holy See, on account of his great reputa- tion for address and eloquence. Finally, on the day of the funeral of Alexander the Se- cond, the cardinals and other ecclesiastics as- sembled in the church of St. Peter to deliber- ate on the choice of a new pontiff. Some proposed Didier, the abbot of Monte Cassino ; others wished to name Jerome, a venerable priest of the chapter of St. Rufinus, but no one dreamed of elevating to the Holy See the son of the incestuous wife of Banizon the car- penter. Suddenly, some priests, who had adroitly mingled among the people, exclaimed : " Hil- debrand is pope, St. Peter has chosen him." Their words excited great acclamations; the crowd ran towards the church, where the car- dinals were assembled, uttering the same cries. The affrighted cardinals dared not re- sist this public manifestation, and immediately signed the decree which elevated Hildebrand to the Holy See. He was enthroned by the name of Gregory the Seventh. Cardinal Benno affirms, that Hildebrand entered the conclave followed by armed men, and that he used terror to force their suffrages, and thus usurp the supreme dignity of the church. "He knew by experience," adds this historian, " that the pontifical chair is the first throne in the world ; he knew all the ad- vantages of the papacy; and the secrets of the palace of the Lateran were no mysteries to him. He had rendered himself so powerful in the church, that Damian calls him the mas- ter of the popes, and that one day he said to him in the presence of several bishops, ' I honour the holy father as every ecclesiastic should ; but you I adore on both knees, be- cause you make our pontiffs supreme; and because they have made you a god.' " Another historian, Heydegger, assures us that he obtained the Holy See through the as- sistance of Satan ; he accuses him of having been a sorcerer, a magician, and the most abominable of men. Ecclesiastical authors, on the other hand, describe him as an incom- parable pontiff; they cannot find eulogies suf- ficiently magnificent, in which to glorify his science and his virtues. They adduce his descent from the illustrious family of the counts of Petiliani, and maintain that the other versions in regard to his birth, are fables invented by his enemies. Gregory the Seventh was sixty years old when he was elevated to the chair of St. Peter ; he was fat and short, and nature had refused to him exterior gifts ; but in recompense there- for his soul was great, his mind vigorous and enlightened. He possessed profound erudi- tion in divinity, and especially in regard to religious legislation, and the customs of the church. Ardent, imperious, enterprising and bold, Hildebrand pursued all his enterprises with great energy, giving proof of an intrepid courage that no obstacle could arrest, and of an inflexibility which recoiled neither from treason nor crime ; thus historians have ac- cused him of having poisoned the seven popes who preceded him, in order to pave his way to the pontifical throne. On the day succeeding his election, the hypocritical Hildebrand, desiring to prevent the reclamations of Didier, his competitor for the chair of St. Peter, hastened to write to him the following letter, which he sent to Monte Cassino, by one of his chamberlains : " The pope Alexander is no more, my brother, and his death has fallen upon me to over- whelm me; it has torn my entrails, and pre- cipitated me into an abyss. Whilst they were celebrating the service for the dead over his mortal remains, a great tumult broke out among the people ; priests, as if crazy, seized upon me and bore me on their shoulders to the palace of the Lateran, where they sealed me on the chair of the apostle, so that I could but exclaim with the prophet: "I am come into the depths of the sea, and my forehead is ravaged by a tempest." I shall not detain you longer w'ith my afflictions, but will claim from your charity the prayers of your brethren, that God will sustain me in the peril which I wished to shun. We wait for you in our palace, my brother, for you know how much the Roman church needs your devotion and your prudence. Salute for me the empress Agnes, and the venerable Rainard, the bishop of Como, and beseech them to continue their affection and their prayers for me." Hildebrand had laboured for a long time to take from the emperors the rights which they had acquired over the church of Rome. Be- come pope himself, he used the experience which he had acquired in his long career, and prepared for the success of his policy by crooked ways. At first he affected great de- ference for King Henry, and sent Didier as embassador to him to inform him of his elec- tion, and to beseech him not to confirm it, because he preferred, he affirmed, the hum- ble retreat of a monastery to the splendour of palaces. But no one was the dupe of his hypocrisy; and the council of Brixen, assem- bled by the prince, to receive the legates of the new pope, accused Hildebrand of having usurped the tiara, and refused to confirm his nomination. Gregory seeing the turn which matters were taking, hastened to write to Didier, reproach- ing him for his lukewarmness in a matter so important, and even accused him of throwing obstacles in the way of his nomination, through HISTORY OF THE POPES. 36S a spirit of envy. The venerable abbot, who had indeed seen his hopes overthrown by the astute Hildebrand, replied to him: "If I am too slow, you are too fast ; since without even waiting for the burial of Alexander, you usurped the Holy See, contrary to all the canon laws." Henry, desirous of being informed as to the truth of the accusations brought against the holy father, sent Count Eberhard to Rome with the title of commissary of the empire, to take information from the clergy and people, and to learn the motives which had induced them to elect a pontiff without the consent of the sovereign. As soon as Eberhard entered the holy city, Gregory went to meet him at the head of the clergy. He cleared himself from all the charges brought against him, and protested that he had never been ambitious of the su- preme dignity of the church. "God is my witness," added he, " that the Romans chose me against my will, and committed violence in order to enthrone me. As to the ordina- tion, I refused all their urgency, and shall continue to refuse it until the king and lords of Germany shall inform me of their will. Henry, deceived by the apparent submis- sion of Hildebrand, then consented to .send to Rome, Gregory of Verceil, to confirm the elec- tion of the pontiff, and to assist at his conse- cration. The ceremony took place on the day on which the embassador of the prince ar- rived. The pontiff had, however, before his ordina- tion, exercised the supreme authority, as if he were assured of being recognized as the lawful chief of the church. Already had Ebbes, count of Champagne, treated with him, purchasing with large sums and advan- tageous, conditions to the Holy See, the inves- titure of the kingdom of Airagon, which he wished to conquer; for at that period, the right which the pontiffs arrogated to themselves of disposing of kingdoms in consequence of the decree of Gregory the Great, was regarded as incontestable ; and it was suflicient, in the eyes of degraded nations, to be upheld by this singular pretension. Hildebrand authorized the count and all the lords who were united with him, to com- bat the Saracens, seize the provinces of the infidel, and found an independent kingdom, saving the rights of St. Peter. If any among you, said the pontiff, in his letter addressed to the French lords, wish to invade, separately, the same country with their own troops, they should propose to make it an holy war, by taking an engagement not to do to St. Peter the wrong which the infidels do him. But if you have no intention of paying equitably the penny of the Holy See, when you shall be- come the masters of these provinces, we pro- hibit you from entering them, because we will not suffer the church to be treated by her children as by her enemies. Godfrey the Humpbacked, duke of Lorraine, having written to him to congratulate him on his election, urged him at the same time to 1 make every exertion to merit the good graces of the emperor of Germany. Gregory replied to him with his habitual hypocrisy, that the pontificate was an abyss of grief to him, "all the ecclesiastics," added he, "and especially the bishops, labour more to de.stroy the church than to defend it, and dream rather of satisfy- ing their avarice and their incontinence, than of opposing the enemies of religion. As to the king of Germany, be assured that we de- sire his temporal and eternal glory. We have even resolved to address paternal warning to him by our legates, that he should undertake nothing contrary to the dignity of the church, and the honour of his crown. If he submits to our decisions, we shall rejoice more over his safety than our own ; but if he renders to us hatred for friendship, in our quality of vicar of Christ, we shall be forced to declare against him, for the ministers of God should not pur- chase the friendship of princes through for- getfulness of his law ] and because we do not wish to draw upon ourselves the anathema of Jeremiah, ' Evil to him who does not bloody his sword in combatting for God against prin- ces and people.' " The holy father received from France let- ters addressed to Pope Ale.xander the Second, containing grave accusations against King Phillip the First. The French clergy com- plained of the avarice of that prince, who sold the property of the church, despoiled the monasteries, and carried off even the sacred vases from the churches. Hildebrand at once wrote to the monarch, to threaten him with his anathemas if he persisted in his conduct, and did not hasten to give satisfaction for the crimes which he had committed. Phillip then sent his chamberlain Alberic, as embas- sador to the court of Rome, who, in the name of his master, engaged, under oath, not to dis- pose of the property of the church in future, without the consent of the holy father. Notwithstanding all his protests, Phillip none the less continued his depredations, and on the election of a new bishop at INIacon, having exacted from the titulary the payment of a considerable sum as the price of his in- vestiture, new complaints were carried to Rome. The holy father then sent to him the following letter: "Either Phillip shall re- nounce simony, or the French, stricken by a general anathema, shall refuse to obey him ; or, finally, they shall all abjure Christianity." This arrogance of the holy father shows, clearly, that his submission to the king of Germany was but a calculation of hypocrisy, for the purpose more surely of attaining his end of establishing his rule over Italy. In fact, after his consecration, and when he had concluded an alliance with the Normans, by abandoning to them as their prey, Cala- bria, Campania, and Apulia, he commencetl an embittered strife with Henry, in which will be found so much treachery, impudence and cruelty, that we should be inclined to doubt the truth of the facts, if their authenti- city was not established upon testimony which cannot be refuted, and if the history of the 31* 366 HISTORY OF THE POPES, church had not already habituated us to see priests cause rivers of blood to flow, and be- come guilty of all crimes. Gregory availed himself of the troubles •which had broken out in Saxony, to try his strength with the sovereign, and for this purpose he addressed letters to Vezel, the metropolitan of Magdeburg, to Burchard, the prefect of Halberstadt, to the marquis Dedit, and other lords of that province, to bring about a suspension of arms, until the nuncioS of the Holy See went into Germany to do them justice. Before the departure of the legates he con- voked a council, which regulated in advance the reforms to be exacted from the princes, and the concessions which it was useful to obtain for the interest of the Holy See. In this assembly the pope evinced an inflexible rigour. He decided against the marriage of priests ; preferring, he said, a concubinary clergy, sodomites, and even incestuous per- sons, to those who contracted lawful unions. " Marriage," added Gregory, " attaches the clergy to the state in giving them families, and estranges them from the church, for which they should sacrifice every thing." He prohibited all the faithful, under penahy of anathema, from assisting at divine service which was celebrated by married priests ; and he addressed this decree to the churches of France, Italy, England, and Germany. The French clergy opposed this scandalous decision, and the bishops addressed this vio- lent letter to him : "You are an heretic, most holy father, since you teach an insensate mo- rality, contrary to the words of Christ and the doctrine of the apostle, who said, ' let him among you who cannot live in abstinence, marry • for it is better for him to marry than to burn.' As for you, sacrilegious pontiff', whose debaucheries with young monks, and adulteries with the countess Matilda and her mother are a public scandal, we learn that you would lead priests into your disorders, by forcing them to separate from their wives ; but we declare to you that we would rather renounce the priesthood than our lawful wives." In the same assembly Gregory accused the king of Germany, through bishops devoted to the court of Rome, and upon their complaints Henry was solemnly excommunicated. After the termination of the council, the bishops of Palestrina, Ostia, Coira and Como went to Ger- many on an apparent mission to pacify the troubles of that kingdom. Henry came as far as Nuremberg to meet them, but they refused to see him, and insolently infoiTned him that they had orders to treat him as an excommu- nicated person, and that they could not con- fer with him until he had submitted to the penance which the laws of the church im- posed on him, and had taken an oath of obe- dience to the pope. The king, fearful lest his troops, in con- sequence of the excommunication lanchod against him, should abandon him at the mo- ment when the Saxons were in full revolt, and were threatening to drive him from his kingdom, confessed himself guilty, consented to perform the penance indicated to him, en- gaged to remain submissive to the pontifT, and finally obtained absolution. In the con- fession which the nuncios of the Holy See caused him to subscribe with his own hand, Henry admitted '•' that he had not employed the sovereign power as a true servant of God, that he had usurped ecclesiastical domains, and sold churches to augment his treasures, and that he had massacred his subjects for the purpose of depriving them of their wealth." But the German bishops, indignant at the cowardice of the prince, soon forced him to assume another attitude. A council having been convoked by the legates, they claimed the presidency of it as the representatives of Gregory the Seventh. The German prelates then declared that they opposed this proud pretension as contrary to the canons, and that they would never yield the right of presiding but to the pope in person, since the ecclesias- tical rules formally indicated that provincial synods should be presided over by the metro- politan of the province in which the assembly was held, and that consequently they rejected the new usage which the court of Rome wish- ed to introduce into Germany. Liemar, arch- bishop of Bremen, severely reprimanded the nuncios for their pride, saying that the metro- politan of Mayence and himself being the vicars of the Holy See. in accordance with the privileges granted to their predecessors, they alone had the right of representing the pon- tiff, which the bishops of Palestrina, Coira, Ostia, and Como could not do, who were the mere envoys of Rome, instructed to carry the orders of the holy father. Henry sustained this opinion with all his authority, and wished to take from them the confession which he had subscribed ; .unfortunately it was already in the hands of the pontiff. As soon as Gregory was informed of the opposition of the prelates of Germany, he wrote to the metropolitan of Mayence : " We hoped, my brother, you would recollect how much you loved us before we were on the throne of the apostle, and we thought you would have preserved the recollection of the confidence with -which we advised with you on our most secret affairs. We had even con- ceived great hopes of your piety, since you manifested a desire of retiring to Cluny. We now learn that you deceive our hopes, and we should be wanting in the sacred duty of friendship, if we failed to warn you of it. You will come to Rome, then, during the first week in Lent, and will bring with your suffragans Otho of Constance, Gamier of Strasburg, Henry of Spires, Herman of Bamburg. Imbrick of Augsburg, and Adalbert of Wirtzburg." The holy father wrote at the same time to Liemar, accusing him of ingratitude ] he sus- pended him from his episcopal functions, and ordered him to go to the synod to hear a defi- nite judgment pronounced against him. He also addressed a letter to King Henry, which he besought him to make public ; the follow- HISTORY OF THE POPES. 367 ing was its tenor: '-We are informed, my son, tiiat the Christians beyond the sea, per- secuted by the infidel, and pressed down by the misery which overwhelms them, have sent entreatieg to the Holy See, imploring our aid, lest during our reign, the torch of reli- gion should be extinguished in tne East. We are penetrated with an holy grief, and we ar- dently aspire after martyrdom. We prefer to expose our life to protect our brethren, rather than remain at Rome to dictate laws to the world, when we know that the children of God are dying in slavery. We have conse- quently undertaken to excite the zeal of all tne faithful of the West, and to lead them in our train to the defence of Palestine. Already have the Italians and Lombards, inspired by the Holy Spirit, heard our exhortations with enthusiasm, and more than fifty thousand warriors are preparing for this far distant ex- pedition, determined to wrest the sepulchre of Christ from the hands of the infidel. I have the more decided to conduct this enterprise in person, as the church of Constantinople asks to be re-united to ours, and that all the in- habitants may wait upon us to put an end to their religious quarrels. Our fathers have frequently visited these provinces, in order to conlirm the faith by holy words: we wish in our turn to follow in their footsteps, if God permits ; but as so great an enterprise needs a powerful auxiliary, we demand the aid of your sword." Hildebrand wrote a general letter on the same subject to all the nations of the West, in which he excited the princes to the holy war against the infidel, beseeching them to send embassadors to Rome, with whom he could arrange the execution of an expedition beyond the sea. Gregory, however, notwith- standing his obstinate perseverance in the project of conquering the Holy Land, could not put it in execution, in consequence of the re- fusal of the king of Germany to become an associate in this dangerous enterprise. The pope fearing the ambition of the prince, if he abandoned Italy to combat the infidels, re- nounced his designs, and applied himself only to augment the temporal grandeur of the Holy See. Gregory, greedy of universal authority, which was the aim of his ambition, sought for every occasion of constituting himself abso- lute judge of sovereigns and lords. Thus, in order to punish Phillip the First of France, for his encroachments on the privileges of the churches, he took from him the right of in- vestiture, and prohibited him, under penalty of excommunication, from midertaking any thing in future against the bishoprics and ab- beys of his kingdom. The pontiff addressed a vehement letter on this subject to the pre- lates of the Gauls, and in particular to ^la- nasses of Rheims, Richard of Sens and Richard of Bourges. '• All crimes," he wrote to these bishops, '-arecommitted with impunity in your provinces — perjury, sacrilege, incest, murder, are regarded as pious actions — citizens pillage and massacre one another. Pilgrims going to or returning from Rome are despoiled, cast into frightful dungeons, or subjected to tor- ture, in order to exact from them ransoms which ruin their fortunes: if they refuse to pay, they are murdered without pity. '• Phillip is the cause of these evils, that ex- ecrable Phillip, who does not deserve the name of king, but that of tyrant, and who passes his life in acts of infamy with his minions. Not content with having excited the divine wrath through his exactions, adul- teries, rascalities, and murders, this avaricious wretch dares to rob foreign merchants who come info his slates, under the guarantee of his royal word, to traffic. '•And you, unworthy bishops, why do you not resist the abominable prince who desolates your people ? Are you willing to render your- selves accomplices of his outrages in the eyes of Christ 1 Do not believe that in opposing his depredations you are wanting in the fidelity and respect exacted from you ; you would on the contrary prove your great devotion by drawing him back from the abyss into which he is plunged. Besides, we who are elevated as high above kings as heaven is above the earth, we give you absolute power over his person ; no longer fear to resist him, and if you will unite in the defence of justice you will have a force capable of restraining him without any peril ; and even though you may expose your lives in condemning him, .should you hesitate to do your duty in the execution of our supreme will ? " Wherefore, by virtue of our apostolical au- thority, we order you to represent to your king how criminal his actions are. Engage him to abandon his habits of sodom)- ; to establish justice, and raise up again the glory of his crown. If he remains hardened in sin, with- out being willing to listen to you ; if he shows no repentance nor compassion for his people, declare to him in our name, that the thunders of St. Peter will strike him, as God before struck Satan. Separate youiselves entirely from the communion of this reprobate ; inter- dict, throughout ail Fiance, the celebration of divine service, and close all the churches. " If this censure is not strong enough to bring him to us, asking for grace and pardon on his knees, publish immediately, that with the aid of God we will use our etTorts to as- semble troops, and come to deliver France from this abominable monster." The threats of Gregory were inefficacious. The bishops of the kingdom, who partook with the king in the spoils of the unfortunate people, took his part, and Phillip continued nis dilapidations, his debaucheries, and his massacres, with the full approval of his clergy. In his opposition to kings, Gregory was not moved by a religions sentiment of humanity, but by his insiitiable desire for sway, which led him to extend his political vigilance into every country. The council which the pontiff had convoked at Rome for the first week in Lent, assembled on the 24th of February. Gregory excommu- nicated five officers of the palace of King 368 HISTORY OF THE POPES. Henry; he threatened King Phillip with the most terrible anathemas, if he did not swear to submit to the nuncios whom he was about to send to his court. Liemar, metropolitan of Bremen, who was not present at the council, was suspended from his sacerdotal functions, and the pontiff prohibited him from celebrat- ing the holy mass. Gamier, bishop of Stras- burg, and Henry, of Spires, were condemned to the same penalties. They granted time to Herman of Hamburg, until Easter, to come and present his justification to the pope. Wil- liam, bishop of Pavia, and Cunibert, of Turin, were also suspended from the episcopate. Denis of Placenza, was deposed from his See ; and finally, the e.xcommunication pro- nounced against Robert Guiscard, the duke of the same family, was confirmed. Some time after, the metropolitan Sigefroy convened a new council at Mayence. The bishop of Coira, the legale of the Holy See, assisted at this meeting, and communicated to the prelates of Germany the letters of Hil- debrand, in vhich the holy father threatened the archbishop with deposition, if he did not constrain all the priests of his province to renounce their legitimate \^ives or their con- cubines. Sigefroy declared that he was dis- posed to execute the decree of the pope ; but immediately all the ecclesiastics who assisted at the synod, rose lumultuously and precipi- tated themselves on him with such impetu- osity, that he feared he would not escape alive from their hands. He hastened to retract his first declaration, and engaged not to authorize the reform, and to despise the orders of the pope. Bayle observes on this subject, that the popes have had more difficulty in reducing to the law of celibacy the priests of the north, than of the midland countries. The clergy of Italy and Spain had, in fact, for a long time submitted to this yoke, without the clergy of Germany and other northern countries con- senting to imitate them ; and they disputed the ground of marriage foot by foot. We must not, however, conclude that the priests of the midland countries are more continent than those of the north. The Italian clergy have always been distinguished for their cor- rupt morals. Courtezans were not enough for their debaucheries, and they abandoned themselves to the shameful excesses of sodo- my ; whilst the Germans, on the other hand, Dassed their lives with the chaste spouse to whom they had attached themselves. Gregory, informed that the king of Germany, after having put down the revolt of the Saxons, was making preparations to enter Italy, imme- diately despatched legates to summon him to appear before a council, if he did not wish to incur the anathema of the church. Henry treated the threats of Hildebrand with con- tempt, drove away his legates in disgrace, and ordered the bishops of his kingdom to assemble at Worms, to depose the proud pope who had excited general hatred against him- self. Conspiracies were also formed at Rome against the pontiff. Cencius, the son of the prefect Stephen, the same who had sustained the party of Cadalous against Alexander the Second, had built a high tower upon the bridge of St. Peter, from whence he took ransoms from passers by, destroyed the travellers, car- ried off beasts, pillaged the farms, and mal- treated the cultivators. Gregory had not dared to undertake anything against this high- way robber, from fear of making an enemy of him. At length, public clamour having com- pelled him to excommunicate him,Cencius im- mediately retired into Apulia, to Robert Guis- card and the other lords driven like him from the states of the church; and all formed the plan of a conspiracy which had for its object to overthrow the pope from his pontifical throne, and to choose in his place Guibert, the metropolitan of Ravenna, one of the conspira- tors. They first wrote to the king of Germany to assure themselves of his protection, and promised to send him the holy father, bound hand and foot. They then fixed on Easter as the period in which they should put their plan in execution. Cencius, on the appointed day, having been apprized by his spies that the pope, as usual, would celebrate night service in the church of St. Maria Majora, went into the city with armed men, and had his horses in readiness to fly from Rome, if he failed in his efforts of abduction. The holy father went into the chapel of the manger to say mass. He had already com- muned with his clergy, and the faithful were advancing to receive the sacrament of the altar, when suddenly, at a given signal, loud cries were heard ; the conspirators sprang into the temple with their drawn swords in their hands, and striking all in their way, they broke the grate of the chapel of the manger, and tore Hildebrand from the altar, dragging him along by the hair, and striking him with the flat part of their swords. One of the soldiers even wished to cut off his head, but the sword turning in his hand, he only inflicted a severe wound on his forehead ; he was then despoiled of his pallium, chasuble, dalma- tique, and tunic, and dragged along bleeding over the pavement of the church. The rumour of this attempt spread at once through the city; divine service ceased every where; the alarm bell was rung; the people assembled in the capitol, and guards were placed at all the gates of Rome to prevent them from carrying the holy father without the city. As soon as day appeared, the crowd went to the tower of Cencius, and the combat commenced ; at the first shock the conspirators abandoned the walls, and took refuge in the tower, which the people be- sieged with M-arlike implements. During this struggle the holy father was shut up in a secret chamber with a Roman lady, who through devotion followed him into his prison and dressed his wounds. The gates of the tower soon began to yield before the efforts of the machines, and the people, already masters of the outer defences, threa- tened to set fire to the fortress. Cencius then HISTORY OF THE POPES, 369 having no longer hopes of being able to pro- long his resistance, came to seek Gregory in his prison, and by dint ot threats and promises obtained from him a partlon for all that had passed, on con^litiou tliat he would undertake the journey to Jerusalem. Gregory immediately approached a win- dow, and made signals to the citizens to sus- pend the attack, and to cause the principal ones among them to come into the fortress; but they, supposing that he was calling them to his assistance, scaled the tower and car- ried off Hildebrand even into the street. The young ecclesiastics raised him in their arms, ami bore him in triumph to the church of St. Maria iMajora, where the holy father cele- brated divine service, and gave his benedic- tion to the crowd. After the ceremony he returned to the palace of the Lateran, and re- cruited his strength by a sumptuous festival, which had been wasted by the terrible events of the night. The intrepid Cencius quitted Rome with his wife, his children, and the rest of the conspirators. The pontiff, freed from this re- doubtable enemy, refused to ratify his pro- mises ; he banished him for ever from the holy city, confiscated his property for the use of the church, demolished his tower, and razed his palace from its foundations. Cencius, on his side, by way of reprisal, ravaged the do- mains of the church, devastated the monaste- ries, massacred the monks, and murdered the pilgrims. The archbishop Guibert, who had taken part in all this affair, was also driven from Rome, and sent to his city of Ravenna, where he organized a new conspiracy against Gre- gory, with Thedaldus, the metropolitan of Mi- lan, and the other prelates of Lombardy. By the order of the archbishop of Ravenna, the cardinal Hugh the White went to Robert Guiscard and King Henry, for the purpose of arranging with them upon the measures to be taken to overthrow Hildebrand from the Holy See. The embassador assi.sted in Germany, at the opening of the council of Worms, at ■which he gave information of the authentic history of Gregory the Seventh, which is the same as has come down to us under the name of the cardinal Benno. This remarkable history recalls the incestu- ous origin of Gregor}*, and gives a faithful re- cital of his debaucheries in the convent of Cluny; it produces aguinst him, accusations of impiety, sacrilege, magic, adultery, and presents irrefutable proofs which establish that he had poisoned seven popes, and at- tempted the lives of several sovereigns. Hugh the White, carried with him a great number of letters, written by the cardinals, the members of the senate of Rome, and the bishops of different provinces of Italy, con- taining vehement complaints, and atrocious accusations against Hildebrand, whose deposi- tion they demanded. The prelates who as- sisted at the reading of these acts, testified such horror at the abominable crimes with which the pope had soiled his life, that they Vol. I. 2 W all e.xclaimed with one voice, that the elec- tion of such a monster was a nullity, and that God had not been able to give to Satan the power to bind ami loose. They pronounced a sentence of deposition against him, which we find thus sent forth in the work of Du Plessis Mornay, entitled, "The Mysteries of the Ini- quities of the Court of Rome." " Hildebrand, who, from pride, has assumed the name of Gregory, is the greatest criminal who has in- vaded the papacy until this time. He is an apostate monk, who adulterates the Bible, suits the books of the fathers to the wants of his execrable ambition, and pollutes jus- tice, by becoming at once accu.ser, witness, and judge. He separates husbands from their wives; he prefers prostitutes to legitimate spouses; he encourages the adulterous and incestuous ; he e.xcites the populace against their king, and endeavours to oblige sovereigns and bishops to pay the court of Rome for their diadems and mitres; finally, he makes a public traffic of the priesthood and the epis- copate ; he buys provinces, sells the digni- ties of the church, and causes all the gold of Christendom to flow into his treasury. We consequently declare, in the name of the em- peror of Germany, of the princes and prelates, and in the name of the senate, and the Chris- tian people, that Gregory the Seventh is de- posed from the apostolical throne, which he soils by his abominations." The whole synod subscribed to this sen- tence, and. Henry addressed letters to the lords and clergy of Lombardy, and of the march of Ancona, to induce them to subscribe to the condemnation of the pope. They also assembled in council ; they swore upon the Gospels, that they no longer recognized the monk Hildebrand as the sovereign pontiff, and pronounced a second anathema against him. The king of Germany then wrote to Gregory : "Up to this time I was in hope you had lor me the tenderness of a father, and I blindly obeyed your orders. Now my eyes are opened, and I discover that you have acted against me as my greatest enemy. I have proof that you e.xcite my subjects to revolt, and that you have made every effort to de- prive me of my kingdom of Italy. You have excommunicated and deposed the bi.'ihops who refuse to abandon my cause ; and finally, you have pushed your boldne.^s so far as to write to me that you would deprive me of my crown and life, previous to your death. I have, in order to arrest your odious projects, convened in an assembly the grandees of my states, to judire our differences. The judg- ment is against you, infamous priest ! 1 or- der you, then, in my quality of patrician of Rome, to quit that accursed chair, which is occupied by a demon !" A clergyman of Parma, named Roland, was charged to carry these letters to the holy city ; and he took his measures so as to arrive at Rome on the eve of the day fixed upon by the pope to judge King Henry in a general as- sembly. At the opening of the council, the 370 HISTORY OF THE POPES. intrepid deacon entered the pontifical palace, put aside the guards, and going straight up to the holy father, said to him : '• The emperor, my master, as well as all the German and Italian bishops, order thee to descend at once from the apostolic throne, which thou hast dishonoured by thy crimes." Then turning towards the Roman clergy, he added : '• My brethren, I command you, in the name of the king, to go to him on the day of Pentecost, to choose a new pope in the place of him who has the audacity to preside here." He had scarcely spoken, when the bishop John, and the prefect of Rome, at the head of his soldiery, precipitated themselves upon him to murder him ; but Hildebrand was too skilful a politician to allow them to commit a crim.e which would have rendered him odious to all the world. He covered with his own body the embassador of the prince, and pro- hibited any attempts upon his life. He then calmly resumed his place, and ad- dressed the assembly. "My friends," said he, '-let us not trouble the peace of the church by becoming guilty of an useless mur- der. These are the dangerous times of which the Scriptures speak. We shall see proud, greedy, and cruel men. who would rend the bosom of their mother. Christendom must be filled with desolation ; and Christ has sent us as sheep for the wolves. We should then have the mildness of the dove, and support with resignation the outrages of senseless men, who desire to betray the laws of God. The Lord wishes to water his house with the blood of the saints. Let us then prepare for martyrdom, and let our death assure the glory and triumph of the church, as God himself has revealed to us by sending us a mysterious sign, which we now place before your eyes." At the same time he showed them a hen's egg, found accidentally, he affirmed, near the church of St. Peter. Upon this egg was engraved, in relief, a serpent armed with a sword and shield, which appeared to wish to elevate itself upon the upper part of the egg, although by a secret power it was constrained to writhe even to the lower. The pope gave an enigmatical explanation of this singular phenomenon, and thus concluded his disclosure : '■ This sign, my children, announces to us that we must now employ the swoi'd of the word to strike the serpent in the head, and to avenge the church. Let us act, then, since God orders us, lor we have already had too much patience." The holy father then, with one of those contradictions which would be sutTicient to demonstrate all the hypocrisy of his conduct, after having commenced his discourse with a feigned moderation, finished it with menaces of death against the sovereign. The council approved unanimously of the sentiments of Gregory; and all the bishops declared they were ready to endure the most terrible pun- ishments in so holy a cause. Gregory pronounced the following anathema against Henry and his accomplices: "St. Pe- terj prince of the apostles, hear thy servant, whom thou hast nourished from his childhood, and whom thou hast protected against the wicked who persecute me. You are my wit- nesses, you, holy mother of God, St. Paul; and all the saints of heaven, that the Roman clergy constrained me to govern them, and that I would rather have finished ray days in exile, than have usurped your place by un- worthy means. But since I have reached this throne by your grace, I believe that it is your will that Christian people should obey me, by virtue of the power which you have transmitted to me of binding and loosing in heaven and on earth. Thus, for the safety of the church, and in the name of God all powerful, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I prohibit Henry, who by reason of an unheard of pride, has elevated himself against us, from governing the kingdoms of Germany and Italy. I free all Christians from the oaths which they have taken to him, and I prohibit all from serving him as king; for he who would oppose our authority, deserves to lose his crown, his liberty, and his life. I burthen Henry, then, with anathema and malediction; I devote him to the execration of men, and I deliver up his soul to Satan, in order that the people may know that the sovereign pontiff" is the rock upon which the Son of the living God has built his church, and that the gates of hell shall never prevail against it." Hildebrand sent to all the faithful in Ger- many, Italy, and Gaul, the sentence which he had pronounced against the sovereign of Germany. He addressed a circular to the German and Italian bishops and lords, in which he ordered them, in case Henry should per- sist in his revolt against the Holy See, to choose another king who would govern the em- pire in accordance with the laws of the church. This decree of excommunication filled Ger- many and Italy with divisions, and was the cause of long and cruel wars. The prelates, however, openly treated the censures of Gre- gory with contempt. William of Utrecht, in particular, defended with much zeal the inter- ests of the prince against the criminal enter- prises of the pope. Every time that he mounted the pulpit, he preached against the pontiff, whom he called a simoniac, adulterer, robber and poisoner ; and he renewed every Sunday the excommunication pronounced against Hildebrand by the German bishops. The Lombard prelates did the same. Gui- bert, the metropolitan of Ravenna, convened a new synod at PavJa, and a second time ex- communicated the holy father. Still, some ambitious lords detached some bishops from the party of the prince, who de- fended the Holy See, and maintained that no one had a right to anathematize the pope, since he was infallible. This miserable rea- soning drew ofi' a great number of nobles, who persecuted those who wished to remain faith- ful to Henry. Gregory also employed all the resources of his policy to detach the refractory bishops from the party of the prince. He wrote the following remarkable letter to Herman, the HISTORY OF THE POPES. 371 prelate of Metz : "As for those who maintain that kings cannot be loji^ilimalely deposed by popes. I refer them to the words and the ex- ample of the fathers; and they will learn that St. Peter said : ' Be ye always ready to punish the guilty, whatever their rank.' Let them consider the motives which induced Pope Zachary to depose King Childeric, and to free all the Franks from their oath of fidelity. Let them learn that St. Gregory, in his decretals, not only excommunicated the lords and kings who opposed the e.xecution of hi? orders, but that he even deprived them of their power. Let them not forget that St. Ambrose himself drove from the temple the emperor Theodo- sius, calling him a profane man, sacrilegious, and a murderer. " Perhaps these miserable slaves of kings would maintain that God, when he said to St. Peter: 'Feed my lambs,' excepted princes; but we will demonstrate that Christ, in giving to the apostle power to bind and loose men. excepted no one. The Holy See has absolute power over all spiritual things : why should it not also rule temporal affairs ? God reigns in the heavens, — his vicar should reign over all the earth. These senseless wretches, how- ever, maintain that the royal is above the episcopal dignity. Are they, then, ignorant that the name of king was invented by human pride, and that the title of bishop was insti- tuted by Christ? St. Ambrose affirms that the episcopate is superior to royalty, as gold is superior to a viler metal." The astute policy of the pope drew off the greater part of the prelates and lords of Ger- many into the party of the Holy See ; and Henry saw all his friends retiring graduallj' from his cause. Several bishops who had before subscribed to the condemnation of the pope, sent deputies to Rome to make their apologies. Others went in person, with naked feet, to the tomb of the apostles, in order to obtain their pardon. Gregory received them all with great hon- OHirs, loaded them with presents, and took with them skilful measures which would lead to the entire destruction of the party of the king of Germany. On the other side, the criminal intercourse which the pope carried on with the empress Agnes, his mother, the duchess Beatrice, his aunt, and the countess Matilda, his cousin-german, assured to him still more perfectly the execution of his am- bitious projects. Beatrice possessed immense estates in Italy, and Matilda her daughter, the wife of God- frey tfie Hunchback, was. through lier hu.s- band; still more powerful than she ; these two women after the rupture which had taken place between the altar ami the throne, aban- doned Jlenry, renounced the ties of blood, anil loudly declared for Gregory. Matilda, who was publicly recognized as the mistress of the pope, wished to force the duke her husband to embrace the cause of the Holy See; but he resisted all her sediictions, and on the contrary raised troops which he led to the king. Hildebrand, fearful lest these re-inforcements should place his enemv in a situation to marcfi on Rome, determined the princess to employ violence to deliver him from her husband, and Godfrey the Hunch- back was assassinated in the city of Anvers on the night of the 20th of February 1076. Gregory, in his turn, out of gratitude for the service which had been rendered him, re- solved to disembarrass himself of the dutchess Beatrice, the rival and mother of Matilda ; he solicited from his former mistress the fa- vour of a meeting, passed the night with her, and caused her to be strangled in the morn- ing. By this double crime the countess IMatiida became the absolute sovereign of immense estates; she became the inseparable com- panion of Hildebrand, established herself in the palace of tlie Lateraii, where she assisted with the cardinals at the private councils of the sovereign pontiff. Platinus affirnrs, that she followed him in all his journeys, served him in his bed, and frequently passed the nights in his chamber, to the great scandal of the chamberlains, who were not pemiitted to enter the apartments of the holy father. Gregory had arrived at the height of his power ; he feared no enemy ; he trampled the people beneath his pontifical sandal ; he aban- doned himself to every license, pushed on provinces to revolt, named emperors, and de- clared the clergy and laity who remained at- tached to the unfortunate Henry, excommuni- cated. By his intrigues he soon formetl a formidable league in Germany against the prince. Rudolph, duke of Suabia. Guelf, duke of Bavaria, Berthold, duke of Carinthia, Adal- beron, bishop of Wirtzburg, Adalbert, bishop of Worms, and some other lords assembled at Ulm, and convened a general diet for the 16th of October, in the city of Tribur, near May- ence. They sent their decree to the lords of Suabia, Bavaria, Saxony, Lorraine, and Fran- conia. beseeching them, in the name of Christ, to abandon their private affairs and come to bring the aid of their intelligence, in taking suitable measures to re-establish the tranquil- lity of the kingdom. On the appointed day the assembly com- menced its session: the policy of the holy father was fully successful ; the metropolitan of Mayence and a great number of ecclesias- tics, who had been devoted to the prince, were obliged to unite with the Roman legates, under penalty of being regarded as enemies to the state. One of the embassadors of the pope spoke and recounted the whole life of Henry ; he drairged forth the crimes which had soiled liis early youth; he accused him of having removed the lords from all participation in the government, in order to elevate men of low birth to the first dignities in the kingdom ; he affirmed that the prince had singular and anti- christian ideas; that he wished to exterminate the nobility, destroy the churches and the monasteries, in order to employ their riches in solacing the people ; and he concluded by presenting, as the only remedy for so many evils, the election of a king of Germany, capa- 372 HISTORY OF THE POPES ble of arresting the license and strengthening the tottering state. The unfortunate Henry at first retired to Oppenheim with some faithful friends j then seeing that his cause was lost, he sent depu- ties to the diet, who offered in his name to abandon the government of the state to the lords, reserving only to himself the royal in- signia and the name of sovereign. But the prelates were inexorable ; they replied that they could not accept any of his offers, be- cause they were not permitted to communi- cate with an excommunicated person, and that consequently they would proceed to his deposition, conformably to the orders of the pope. They consented, however, to refer the matter to the pontiff, if the prince would en- gage to come to the council of Augsburg to submit to the judgment of Gregory, in the presence of all the lords of Germany. They threatened to declare him for ever excluded from the throne, if he did not obtain absolu- tion within a year and a day, and they ordered him, whilst awaiting the judgment of the pope, to send away all the excommunicated who were about his person, to djsband the garrison of Worms, to re-instal the bishop of that city in the exercise of his functions, and to retire himself to Spires with some domestics who were designated by the assembly. Finally, they enjoined on him to lead a simple, frugal life ; to use no equipages, nor bear the tokens of imperial dignity, nor occupy himself with civil or religious affairs. Henry acceded to these disgraceful condi- tions ; he sent away from his camp the metro- politan of Cologne, the bishops of Hamburg, Strasburg, Basle, Spires, Lausanne, Ceitz, Os- nabruck, and the other excommunicated ; he disbanded his troops, went to Worms, and re- tired to the city which had been assigned to him, where he lived like a private citizen. The legates immediately informed the holy father of the result of their embassy, and en- gaged him to go in person to the synod of Augsburg. Henry, in his impatience to be re- leased from the anathema pronounced against him, was unwilling to wait for the arrival of Gregory, and determined to present himself as a suppliant at Rome, in order to obtain ab- solution. He departed secretly from Spires, some days before Easter, with the empress his wife, and his son, still an infant ; he travers- ed Burgundy and arrived in Savoy, where he was traitorously arrested by Count Amedeus, the brother of his wife, who only restored him his liberty on condition of his surrendering a province bordering on the states of Germany. The winter was, this year, very severe, and rendered the passage of the Alps ex- tremely dangerous; no dangers, however, could suspend the execution of his project '; he traversed snow and ice, and descended into Lombardy. The noise of his arrival had scarcely spread abroad, when the Lombard bishops and lords, who were discontented with the pope, came to meet him, and regard- less of the excommunication, they rendered him great honour, and formed an imposing escort for him. Some lords even proposed to him to declare war on the Holy See, offering him succours of men and money; but the prince broken down by so great reverses, dared not accept their proposals, and continued his route to Rome. Gregory had already quitted the holy city to go to Augsburg, accompanied by the coun- tess Matilda, who followed him in all his jour- neys; but when he was informed of the arri- val of Henry, and of the demonstrations on his behalf, made by the Lombards, he was alarmed, retrod his steps, and shut himself up in a castle called Canudium or Canossa, which belonged to his mistress, and was re- garded as impregnable. It was during this retreat, that he received the German bishops and several lay lords whom he had excommunicated. They had travelled to Italy Avith naked feet, and covered with sackcloth, to implore the pity of the holy father. The fear of a general rising in favour of Henry, rendered the pontiff indulgent to the pilgrims; he consented to receive them into the bosom of the church, always on condition that they would sincerely confess their crimes, and submit to pa}"- a fine to the Holy See, and undergo a public penance. They declared their readiness to suffer every thing they were ordered to do. Gregory then commenced proving them by prescribing for them a rigor- ous fast, "a penance still more severe," adds Bayle, '• since these prelates came from a cold country, where fasting is one of the severest mortifications that can be imposed, especially on priests, who are accustomed to make long meals, at which they gorge themselves with food and drink." After proving them for some days, Gregory made them appear anew in his presence, ad- dressed to them a severe reprimand, and gave them absolution ; before, however, dismissing them, he ordered them not to communicate with the prince, until he had made an apology to the Holy See, except to exhort him to re- pentance. Henry having arrived at Canossa, solicited a private interview with his cousin, the concu- bine of the pope ; Matilda consented to receive him, and the result of this conference was, that she presented to Gregory on the following day, the countess of Savoy, mother-in-law of the prince, the count her son, the marquis Azon, and Hugh, the abbot of Cluny, in order that they might implore in his name the mercy of the holy father. The presentation took place, but Gregory replied to the solici- tors, that it was contrary to the laws of the church to examine an accused, but in the presence of his accusers ; that if Henry were innocent, he had nothing to fear by appearing before the synod of Augsburg, where he promised him he should receive ample jus- tice, without permitting himself to be preju- diced by his enemies. The abbot of Cluny represented to the holy father that the king did not fear the judgment, but that he be- sought him to absolve him from the anathema lanched against him, because the year of his HISTORY OF THE POPES. 373 excommunication had almost expired, and the prelates of Germany waited for that fatal term to declare him dispossessed for ever of the royal dignity. The inflexible pontifT resisted all their en- treaties; finally, gold was proposed to him, and he yielded to this powerful argument. He, however, e.xacted that the prince, in token of his repentance, should deposit his crown and other ensiras of royalty at his feet, de- claring himself unworthy to reign. Henry consented to undergo this humiliation ; he presented himself alone at the outer gate of the fortress, and waited with patience until the pope was ready to have them opened. When he had passed the outward entrance, he laid aside all his royal ornaments, unclothed himself entirely, and put on sackcloth ; a broom and scissors were then placed in his hands as a sign that he consented to be whip- ped and shaven ; he remained in this posi- tion for three days and three nights, with naked feet, during the most extreme severity of the winter, without covering, without taking any nourishment, shedding torrents of tears, and imploring, with many groans, the mercy of the pope ! ! ! Gregory, in one of his works, boasts of this conduct and avows that his justice resembled rather the cruelty of a tyrant, than the seve- rity of a judge. At length the countess Ma- tilda took pity on the prince and obtained from the pontiff the pardon of her cousin. Henry having been admitted to an audience of the pope, absolution was granted to him on condition that he should present himself at the diet of the German lords, and would reply to the accusations brought against him. Gregory- wished him to engage to submit himself to the orders of the Holy See, whether he should lose his crown or not : and that in any case he should declare his lords relieved from the oath of fidelity they had taken to him, and perfectly free before God and men to choose another sovereign ; he made him promise never to avenge himself for the judgment pronounced against him, whatever it might be, and to show himself entirely submissive to the orders of the pontifT on all occasions. Fi- nally, he warned him, that if he should fail in a single one of these conditions, he would de- clare his absolution null, and give to the German lords the right of choosing another king. Henry signed these promises, and con- firmed them by solemn oaths upon the gos- pels and the relics of St. Peter : the pope then declared him relieved from the sentence of excommunication. On the next day they went together to the church of the city, in which Gregory celebra- ted mass in the presence of an immense crowd; when he had pronounced the words of consecration, he made the prince approach the altar, and holding the consecrated host in his hand, addressed these words to him : " King Henry, I received letters from you and your bishops, in which you called me an usurper, a poisoner of popes, incestuous and a sodomite: now in order to overthrow these accusations, and efface for ever even the shade of the scandal, I take the body of our Lord to witness my innocence, and I trust it will prove a poison to me if I am guilty." At the same time he took the host, broke it into two pieces, and communed. The stupid people uttered loud shouts of joy, praising God and the pontiff for so admirable an action. Gregory having obtained silence, turned towards the prince: '-Do in your turn, my son, that which you have seen me do. The German lords accuse you of exactions, adulte- ries, and murders; they maintain that you should be driven, for your crimes, from the communion of the faithful; and they ask that you should be judged by a council. Y^ou are not ignorant how uncertain are the judgments of men ; take this other part of the host which I present to you ; call down upon your head the wrath of Christ if you are guilty, and commune, as I have done, in the presence of all the assistants, in order that the proof of your innocence may destroy all the calumnies of your enemies." Henry, surprised and confounded by so strange a proposal, asked for some moments to deliberate upon it with the lords who were with him. He then replied to the pope, that the opinion of his councillors was, that he should incur the chances of a general council. Hildebrand, satisfied with his victory over the superstitious mind of the prince, administered to him the communion, without exacting that he should pronounce the horrid imprecation of which he had himself set the e.xample. After the service, he invited him to dine in the fortress, and dismissed him with defer- ence. Eppon, bishop of Ceitz, was instructed to accompany him, for the purpose of absolv- ing those who had communed with the king during his excommunication ; but the Lom- bard lords, and especially the bishops who knew the secret of all the pontifical tricks, refused the absolution, and chased off the legate, heaping upon him blows and insults. A new provincial synod assembled in Lom- bardy. The bishops a second time excommu- nicated the monk Hildebrand. They renewed their terrible accusations against him; they accused him of having poisoned the seven popes, his predecessors ; of having usurped the Holy See, and of having dishonoured it by adultery, incest, and assassinations. The king was declared a traitor to the country for hav- ing cowardly submitted to an heretic soiled with every crime, and for having abandoned their cause, when, in order to avenge him, they had openly declared against the court of Rome. Henry soon became the object of universal contempt. The priests, the grandees, and the people, resolved to dethrone him, and conduct ! his son to Rome, by force of arms, to drive j away Gregory, and to name a new pontiff, I who should consecrate the young prince em- peror of Italy. On the other hand, the metro- ! politan of Mayence, with the bishops and j lords who were hostile to the king, assembled i at Forsheim, in Franconia, and addressed let- 32 374 HISTORY OF THE POPES. ters to the holy father and asking him to conie to their council and contirm the choice which they had made of Rudolph of Suabia as their sovereign. Finally, in order to crown his misfortunes, Matilda made a solemn do- nation of all her estates to the Holy See, to the prejudice of the house of Henry, who were her legitimate heirs. The king then, incited by despair, took an energetic resolve, and swore to draw down vengeance on Hilde- brand, the author of all his ills. He traversed Lombardy, called to his side all the excom- municated, all who were enemies of the pope, and openly declared war on the Holy See. In less than two months, the prince saw himself at the head of a numerous arm)', and made his dispositions to march on Rome. At the news of this levy of armed men, Gregory lost his arrogance, and tried negotiations, not daring either to declare against Henrj', or abandon the cause of King Rudolph ; and as it became impossible for him to go into Ger- many on account of the Lombard troops who guarded all the routes, he addressed letters to the Germans, expressing the doubts of his mind in regard to the rights of the two sove- reigns. The lords and bishops, surprised at this change, replied to the pope: "You know, holy father, and your letters, which we have preserved, are witnesses of it, that it was neither by our advice, nor for our interests, that King Henry was deposed ; in that we obeyed the will of the Holy See. Since you prohibited us, under penalty of the most ter- rible evils, from recognizing him as king, we have executed your orders at the hazard of our fortunes and our lives; for the prince, after your sentence, exercised great cruelties against us. Our submission to your decrees first brought on us the ruin of our provinces; then the humiliation of seeing the sovereign of the country constrained to crouch at your feet like a dog, in order to receive absolution, and to obtain from your holiness permission to ravage our fields and our cities a second time, and to avenge himself on us for the ills you have drawn on him. '•' After having left the kingdom for an en- tire year without a head, in conformity with your wishes, we have chosen a king whom you had yourself chosen ; and now, whilst he is engaged for the good of his people, instead of contirming his nomination, you recognize two kings in the same country, and you send your legates to both. This indecision which exists in your mind, increases our divisions; for in your letters you call King Henry a pre- varicator, and you ask from him a safe con- duct to come to our meeting, as if he yet preserved some power. We are also inform- ed that you listen favourably to those whom you have excommunicated with him, and yet you exhort us to remain faithful to Rudolph. " This tortuous policy has surprised us. We desire to suppose that your intentions are as laudable as your views are profound ; but we are too simple to penetrate them 3 we only see the deplorable results of your con- duct. In managing the two parties, you light up a civil war. You incite pillages, incen- diarism, massacres, and the destruction of the royal domain ; so that the kings, for the future, will only live by rapine and robbery. These evils would not have existed, if you had not lighted in our provinces the fire of discord. It is the excess of our grief which induces us to speak in language so severe, because we are exposed to the rage of the wolves, for having obeyed the shepherd. And now, if the shepherd becomes our enemy, we shall no longer have faith neither in the pontifis, nor the apostles, nor Christ ; we shall regard popes and kings as the implacable enemies of humanity, and we shall devote them to the execration of the people." Gregory did not reply to this letter, and re- ceived with equal honours the embassadors of the two kings of Germany. He was then occu- pied in holding several councils at Rome, to renew the anathemas pronounced against the partizans of Henry, and to compel Berenger of Tours to make a solemn retraction of his doctrine concerning the eucharist. He ex- communicated, during the same year, Boles-' las, the king of Poland, and wished to force the king of England to submit to the Holy See. Finally, having learned that Henry was about to enter Germany to combat his rival, he determined to excommunicate him anew, and publicly to recognize Rudolph, duke of Suabia, as the sovereign of Germany. In this remarkable decree, the pope ad- dressed St. Peter and St. Paul in these terms : "Blessed apostles, you are witnesses that the German lords and bishops, without our ad- vice, chose duke Rudolph as theii king; and that this prince immediately sent embassa- ilors to our legate, declaring that he had un- dertaken, despite of himself, the government of the kingdom, and that he was ready to obey us in all things; offering, as a proof of his sincerity, to send us rich presents, and to give us as hostages, his son and that of duke Berthold. You know that Henry, at the same time, besought us to declare in his favour, against Rudolph, and that we replied, that we would act of our own will, after having heard these two princes in a council. But as soon as Henry supposed that he could overthrow his competitor without our aid, he repulsed our interference with contempt. " It is therefore, most holy apostles, after having invoked your testimony as a guarantee of our sincerity, we employ your authority in condemning this sovereign and his accom- plices. We declare Henry dispossessed of the crown of Germany and Italy ; we anathe- matize him. and we invoke on his head the thunders of heaven ; we beseech you to take from him all prudence in council, and to ren- der him cowardly in battle, so that he may never gain any victory. We declare Rudolph the lawful king of the Teutonic states, and we grant to all who shall betray Henry, ab- solution from all their sins, and the blessing of Christ in this world and the next. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 375 "Now blessed St. Peter and St. Paul, let the world know, by giving victory to Rudolph, that you can bind and loose in hoaven ; that you can give or take away empires, kingtloms, principalities, dutchies, marquisiites, count- ships, and the goods of all men; finally, that you take from the unworthy and bestow on the good, the pontificate. primacie.s, archbi- shoprics and bishoprics. Let the people learn that you judge spiritual things, and that you have an absolute power over temporal affairs ; that you can curb the demons, who are the councillors of princes, and annihilate kings and the powerful of the earth. Display then your greatness and your power, and let the world now tremble before the redoubtable orders of your church. Cause especially the sword of your justice promptly to strike the head of the criminal Henry, in order that all Christians may learn that he has been stricken by your will." This sentence was decreed at Rome, on the 7th of aUarch, 1080, and Hildebrand sent it to King Rudolph, with a magnificent crown of gold enriched with precious stones. Notwithstanding all the imprecations of Gregory, events gave a striking lie to him. Henry entered Germany at the head of a nu- merous army, and gained a signal victory over his competitor, in the famous day of Fladeheim ; after which the prince convoked a synod at Brixen, to which he called all the bishops and lords of Lornbardy, and a large part of the ecclesiastics and nobles of Ger- many. In this assembly they accused Gregory of heresy, impiety, sacrilege, simony, extortions, adultery, murder and magic; they produced witnesses who proved that the pope had cast the holy host into the fire, whilst conjuring up demons ; the priests of the interior of the palace of the Lateran declared that he had poisoned the seven popes, his predecessors, by means of his intimate confidant, Gerard Brazurus; finally, the fathers pronounced an excommunication against Gregory, deposed him from the Holy See, and proclaimed Gui- bert, the metropolitan of Ravenna, sovereign pontiff; who assumed the name of Clement the Third. As soon as the pope was apprized of the election of Guibert, he hastened to send le- gates to Apulia and Calabria to draw off the population to his side. He thus expressed himself about these schismatics, "They have been forced to renew their old conspiracy ; they have chosen as their chief an heretic, a sacrilcLrious person, a perjurer, an assassin who wished to wrest from us our tiara and our life — an antichrist — a Guibert ! ! In a cabal composed of demoniacal and concubinary i)re- lates, our enemies have even pushed their fury so far as to condemn us. because we re- fused to their entreaties and their threats par- don for their crimes. But (lod sustains us; he will make us triumph over the wicked, and we despise their anathemas." Notwithstanding his apparent security, Gre- gory laboured actively to obtain the protec- tion of William, king of England, v,hom he had excommunicated some months before ; he also enti'red into treaties with Robert Guiscard, with Jourdain, the prince of Capua, and other Norman lords, whom he had before excom- municated. He granted to them absolution, confirmed them in possession of the estates they had usurped, and in exchange, concluded with them a treaty, by which they engaged to defend the Holy See against its enemies, and to unite with the lords of Tuscany, the vassals of the countess Matilda, in attacking the anti- pope in the city of Ravenna. At the same time, he addressed letters to Germany, ex- citing the people in favour of Rudolph, and aflirming that the apostle Peter had appeared to him, and announcetl that a false king would die this year before the day of his feast. "If this prediction be not accomplished," adds he, "I swear before God and men, that I am un- worthy to be pope." Sigebert relates that the Saxons, full of con- fidence in this prophecy, induced Rudolph to try the chance of arms; he marched to meet Henry, with an army inferior in numbers to that of that prince. The affair took place on the borders of the river Ellestre, near to Rlers- burg, in Saxony Five times were his troops repulsed with loss, and live times he led them, back to the charge. Finally, in the last charge, Godfrey of Bouillon, pushed his horse right against Ruilolph, wounded him with a blow of his lance in the lower part of his belly and overthrew him on the field of battle ; at the same moment, a kniiiht struck the unibrtu- nate king with his sword and cut oil' his right hand; Rudolph died almost at once. The soldiers, alarmed at the loss of their chief, abandoned iheir rank» and took refuge in Mersbnrg. Rivet informs us that Pope Gregory, in a public discourse, had announced anew in pro- phetic terms, the victory of Rudolph, and the death of Henry : but that, thanks to an active care, the assassins sent by the holy father had been arrested, and that Gregory then, in order not to compromise his dignity as a pro- phet, afiirnied that the prediction only related to the soul of the king. Bayle, in his dictionary, reasons thus sin- gularly: " Either Hildebrand believed that his prediction would be accomplished, or he did not believe it. If he believed it, we must call him a false prophet, ami if he did not believe it, an infamous impostor, because he sacrificed the holiness of religion to his temporal inte- rests: tVom whence we must conclude." adds he, •' that the popes have been more than once wicked hypocrites, worthy of the rope and fire." After the decisive victory Avhich he had gained in (Jermany over his competitor, Henry re-entered Italy and conquered the troops of his cousin Matilda, near Mantua. Thus, the countess found herself menaced with the loss of her stales. Notwithstanding these checks, the intrepid Hildebrand assembled new troops to oppose the prince ; but the latter drove these illy disciplined bands before him, and 376 HISTORY OF THE POPES. chased them from several important places which belonged to the countess. On his route he arrested all pilgrims, and did not restore them to their liberty until he had exacted from them an oath not to lend assistance to the monk Hildebrand and his concubine. Fi- nall}', the king encamped in the meadows of Nero, half a league from Rome, with the arch- bishop Guibert, without being able, however, to penetrate into the city, which was then de- fended by Matilda. Not only did this coura- geous woman repulse his assaults, but she even obliged the king to raise his camp and retire into Lombard y. During this whole war the countess exhibit- ed surprising activity and energy. No sacri- fice in men or money was too dear to her, in order to increase the means of defence to her lover. Her palace became the refuge of the Italian and German bishops, clergy, monks, and laymen, whom the king had driven away or despoiled ; and she daily detached new partizans from the party of Henry. To some she granted fiefs ; to others, money. The richer received in her arms the price of their devotion or their treason. The malcontents were pursued to extremities.* Their domains were devastated, their serfs murdered, and their castles burned. At length, as this struggle between the throne and the altar threatened to be indefi- nitely prolonged, Henry determined to strike a great blow; and, notwithstanding the bad success of his first effort, he led his army a second time beneath the walls of Rome. The- summer passed by without his being able to do anything ; and he was even obliged to re- tire during the extreme heat, leaving in the neighbouring castles garrisons which made fre- quent sorties and kept the city in alarm. When winter returned, he recommenced the labours of the siege, and pushed them on with vigour. The Romans, on their side, continued to de- fend tl;emselves obstinately. Henry then re- solved to change his tactics, and to contend with the holy father by hypocrisy. He set at liberty several prelates whom he retained as prisoners; he solemnly declared he would protect all pilgrims who went to Rome to visit the holy places ; that the war was finished, and that he only wished to enter the city to receive the imperial crown from the hands of Gregory. The Roman lords manifested great joy at the pacific intentions of the prince ; made a secret treaty with him and instructed some of their number to present it to the holy father, beseeching him to take pity on their country, and not to sacrifice it to his personal enemies. The pope replied to the deputation : " We know too well the tricks of policy, to believe in the promises of a king. Still, if Henry w^ill consent to ask pardon oif God and the church, in the form which we shall prescribe, we will absolve him from all his sins, and grant the crown to him. Otherwise, do not hope to de- ceive me. If he refuse my proposals, and you still shall dare to implore our mercy for him, I declare to you, that I will put you all to death in punishment, and that Rome shall be engulphed beneath its rubbish before I yield to the emperor." Fearful of a vengeance which they knew to be inexorable, the lords cast themselves at his feet, and avowed to him that they were bound by an oath to the emperor to oblige the pope to crown him or abandon the tiara. Gregory feigned to pardon their treason ; and to re- assure their consciences, he besought them to repeat to him the formula of the oath which they had taken. Having listened attentively, he observed that they had only engaged to give a crown, not a dignity. He consequently wrote to Henry in the name of the Romans, that he could come to seek the imperial crown which had been promised to him, and that it should be placed on his forehead with all the honours of consecration, if he would make amends to the Holy See ; or that it should be cast to him as alms from the top of the dome of the castle of San Angelo, if he refused to submit. The king having rejected both these proposals, Hildebrand declared that the Ro- mans had fulfilled their oath, and were freed before God. Betrayed by the nobles, Henry then turned to the people, and caused it to be published that every inhabitant who should present him- self at his camp, should receive a sum of money as an indemnity for the losses which he had sustained during the war. One hun- dred and forty-four thousand pence of gold were distributed in this way. Thus, this lar- gesse having considerably increased the num- ber of his partizans, the gates of the city were opened to him, and he was enabled to make his triumphal entry into Rome. He went at first to the palace of the Late- ran with the anti-pope Guibert, whom he caused to be consecrated sovereign pontiff" by the bishops of Bologna, Modena, and Cer- via, and who was enthroned by the name of Clement the Third. The new pope then so- lemnly crowned Henry emperor of the West. Gregory shut himself up in the castle of St. Angelo with the lords who remained faithful to liim, and continued to defend himself against the troops of the king. But, fearful of being compelled soon to yield to his enemy, he endeavoured to rid himself of him by a new crime. He was informed that Henry performed his devotions nightly in a church, in which he had chosen a solitary chapel, in order to pray with more meditation. He gain- ed over the cardinal priest who served in this church. By his orders they pierced the beam which sustained the ceiling immediately over the place of the king, and masked this open- ing by an enormous stone, which could de- tach itself at a moment's notice and crush the prince. These preparations were made with the greatest mystery. That night Henry came, in accordance with his custom, to kneel in the chapel. The cardinal immediately drew a cord which was fastened to the stone ; but whether it was the violence w-ith which the cord was drawn that caused the stone to deviate, or HISTORY OF THE POPES. 377 whether the prince was not in his habitual place, it did not touch him, and broiie before him. Some splinters alone inflicted on him slight wounds. The guilty priest was seized at once, and cut to pieces by the guards. His dead body, after having been dragged through the streets of Rome, was cast into the sewers without the city. This attempt at assassina- tion served to sink Gregory into ilisrepute, and almost all his partizans abandoned him to join the king. But Henry, who feared a new effort against his person, was unwilling to prolong his stay in Rome, and retired into Lombardy, where the countess Matilda was carrying on a war of extermination. Germany also demanded his presence to resist the enterprises of the Saxons, whom the legates of the Holy See had excited to revolt. During his absence, Ro- bert Guiscard yielded to the solicitations of the pope, abandoned Greece in order to come to his aid, disembarked in Italy, and present- ed himself before Rome. The gates having been closed, treason came to his aid. He penetrated into the city during the night, abandoned it to be pillaged by his soldiers, set it on fire in every quarter, and re-instated Gregory on a throne soiled with murders and carnage. The proud pontiff found himself a second time the absolute master of Rome ; he imme- diately held a new council, at which he re- iterated the excommunication pronounced against the anti-pope Guibert, against Henry and their partizans; he then retired to Sa- lerno, an impenetrable fortress, in order to place himself beyond the vengeance of the prince. In the early part of the spring, Henry re- turned to Rome, where he was received with transports of joy ; Guibert was forcibly re- installed in the palace of the Lateran and seated on the pontifical throne. On receiving the news of the victory of his competitor, Hil- debrand became so enraged that he became sick ; a burning fever seized him, the illness increased daily ; finally, when he was at the point of death, the bishops who assisted him, and even his mistress, wished him to employ mdulgences towards his enemies ; he replied to them, '-'No, my hatred is implacable; I curse the pretended emperor Henry, the anti- pope Guibert, and the reprobates who sustain them ; I absolve and bless the simple who believe that a pope has power to bind and Vol. I. 2X loose." He died on the 20lh of May, 1085, uttering this blasphemy. He had reigned almost eleven years. Gregory the Seventh is the priest who laboured with the most boldness to elevate the pontifical power ; he displayed on the throne of St. Peter all the qualities of Charle- magne, and showed himself worthy to found the empire of the church on the ruins of tne empire of the West. Bayle affirms, that the triumph of the church militant has been the result of a war of a thousand years, during which were displayed more courage and address than would have been necessary to conquer the whole world. " The power of Christian Rome is more ex- traordinary," adds he, "than that of pagan Rome, and it appears that Providence destined this city to be first, the mistress of nations by its arms and then by its intelligence. In fact we cannot consider without astonishment, that men, by the assistance of the Word of God, a Gospel which preaches disdain of grandeur, which exalts humility and poverty, have had the hardihood to aspire to absolute sway over the sovereigns of the earth. But what surprises us still more is, that the popes have been ena- bled to maintain this incredible sway during almost a thousand years ; this conquest is more admirable than those of the Ale.xanders and Caesars ; and Gregory the Seventh, who is the principal author of it, ought really to have his place among great conquerors." These paradoxical reflections have a certain amount of certainty ; for Gregory was made rather for a ■captain and emperor, than priest and pope. He was a great statesman ; his life as well as his maxims prove it in an in- contestable manner: "God is a Spirit," says Gregory; "he rules matter; thus the spiritual is above the temporal power. The pope is the representative of God on earth ; he should then govern the world. To him alone pertain infal- libility and universality; — all men are sub- mitted to his laws, and he can only be judged by God ; — he ought to wear imperial orna- ments ; people and kings should kiss his feet; Christians are irrevocably submitted to his orders ; they should murder their princes, fathers and children, if he commands it ; — no council can be declared universal without the orders of the pope ; — no book can be received as canonical without his authority; — finally, no good nor evil exists but in what ne has con» demned or approved." 32* 378 HISTORY OF THE POPES. VICTOR THE THIRD, THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY- THIRD POPE. [A. D. 1085.] History of Victor h&fore his 'pontificate — Intrigues for his election — Victor refuses the papacy — He is clothed, in spite of himself, ivith the pontifical ornaments — He abdicates the pontificate — Finally accepts the papacy — The countess Matilda protects Victor — Letter from the pope to the Germans — Diet of Spires — Death of the pontiff. Some days before his death, Gregory the Se- venth, having assembled the cardinals around his bed, pleciged them to choose as his suc- cessor, Didier, the abbot of Monte Cassino, and a cardinal priest of the order of St. Ceci- lia, who partook of his hatred towards the emperor, and wished with him to elevate the chair of St. Peter above thrones. Didier was of the illustrious family of the princes of Beneventum. From his very infancy he assiduously frequented churches, hstened with delight to the Holy Scriptures, and con- stantly associated with pious persons, in order to prepare himself for a religious life ; but his parents, who were desirous of maintaining the splendour of their name, exacted a pledge from him that he would live in the world, and affianced him to a noble girl. Before the con- summation of the marriage, the father of Di- dier, having been slain by the Normans, he resolved to retire secretly into a monastery, and he escaped from the residence of his parents, aided in his plans by a monk named Jacquint. Didier received the monastic garb from the hands of the holy hermit Santari; his family having discovered the place of his retreat, he was brought back by force to Beneventum, where he remained for a year, closely watched, in the castle of his mother. He escaped a second time and went to Sa- lerno, to his cousin Prince Gaimar, to whom he said, " Since I cannot be a monk in my own country, permit me to be one in your's." The prince promised him his protection, since he positively wished to embrace a monastic life. Didier then entered the monastery of the '-Trinity of the Cave," near to Salerno, where he remained until his mother granted him permission to become a monk, and to live in the convent of St. Sophia, in the environs of Beneventum. During the pontificate of Leo the Ninth, he entered the monastery of Monte Cassino ; Stephen the Tenth appointed him abbot of that monastery ; and finally, during the reign of Hildebrand, he showed himself an ardent defender of the privileges of the Holy See, and obtained new honours. Thus, after the death of Gregory, the bishops, cardinals and lords who had remained faithful to that pontiff, besought Didier to ac- cept the tiara ; which he formerly refused to do in order to avoul inevitable dangers. He consented, however, to labour actively for the Roman church: he even engaged Jourdain, prince of Capua, Rainulph, count of Averna, and the countess Matilda, to form a league with the Normans, for the purposes of opposing the anti-pope, and of nominating a pontiff worthy to govern the church. Under his di- rections the allied bishops and lords marched on Rome, and having become masters of the palace of the Lateran, they proceeded to nomi- nate a pope. Didier was proclaimed as alone worthy of the tiara, and notwithstanding his active opposition to it, he was borne in triumph to the church of St. Luke, where he was con- secrated in accordance with the canonical rule, by the name of Victor the Third. He was then clothed in the red cape, but they could not put the aube on him on account of his resistance. The governor of Rome, taking advantage of the tumult which reigned in the city in consequence of the ceremony of consecration, seized upon the capitol, spread his troops through the streets, and forced the new pontiff to leave the city three days after his election. Didier having arrived at Terracina, aban- doned the cross, the cape, and the other signs of the papacy, and on some entreaties made to him, he refused to resume them, threaten- ing to fly to the ends of the world, if they wished to do violence to his sentiments. The prelates and principal lords of Italy then de- termined to convene a synod at Capua, in which he consented to take a seat. At the close of the council, all those assisting at it be- sought him to accept the pontificate. Roger, duke of Calabria, Jourdain, prince of Capua, and a great number of bishops, cast them- selves at his feet, beseeching him with tears to resume the tiara, and save the church from ruin. Didier finally consented to become pope, and decided to return to Rome with the princes of Capua and Salerno. The anti-pope and the German soldiers undertook the defence of the church of the apostle, which was the most exposed point; but notwithstanding their efforts, it fell into the power of the enemy, and on Sunday, the ninth day of May. 1087, the pontiff, Victor the Third, was solemnly consecrated in this church, by the bishops of Ostia, Tusculum, Porto, and Albanum, in the presence of se- veral cardinals, a great number of prelates, and a prodigious concourse of people. Didier remained some days in the city Leonine, whence he repaired to Monte Cassino. Hugh, the metropolitan of Lyons, availed himself of this circumstance to excite the countess Matilda against the new pontiff, by misrepresenting facts. He wrote to her as fol- lows ; " You know that the election of the abbot HISTORY OF THE POPES. 379 Didier was accomplished before my arrival in Italy ; and if my brethren and myself ap- proved of it, it was in hopes that he would raise up the dignity of the church, and repair the ills which the enemies of God have caused us to endure. But we did not then know himj now that we are with him at Monte Cassino, we have penetrated into his true character, and have learned the fault which we committed in choosing him for our chief. Crafty and perfidious, he now condemns the conduct of Gregory the Seventh; he accuses that great pope of revolting crimes ; he refuses to walk in his footsteps, and wishes to bestow on Henry the imperial crown." The countess did not believe the accusa- tions of the archbishop Hugh ; on the con- trary, she went into Italy, and besought Victor to come to her in order that she might have the consolation of seeing the best friend of him whom she had so much loved, promising to become the pledge of his safety, and to restore him to the palace of the Lateran. Didier, notwithstanding his bad health, ac- ceded to her desires, and came up the Tiber as far as Rome. He was received on disem- barking by the countess, and the enemies of the king of Germany, who, by the assistance of their troops, had seized upon all that part of the city called Trastevera, the castle of St. An- gelo, the church of St. Peter, and the isle of Tiber, in which the pope took up his residence. A great part of the nobles declared for Didier. The people took the side of the anti- pope Clement, who remained master of Rome, that is to say, of all the old city. He dwelt in the church of the Rotunda, then called St. Mary of the Towers, because it had two bells. The two factions came to blows daily, and combatted even in the churches. Didier sent letters into (Jermany, to apprize the lords of that kingdom of his election, and to inform them that he confirmed the con- demnation which Gregory the Seventh had pronounced against Henry and his adherents. These letters were read at Spires in a general diet, convened by the nobles and bishops who recognized Victor the Third as the legitimate pontiff; all pledged themselves to lend their assistance to the prince, if he wished to be- come absolved from the excommunication lanched against him, but declared tliut on his refusal the revolt would become general and more violent than before. Ladislaus, king of Hungary, informed the diet, through his em- bassadors, that he remained faithful to Pope Victor, and that he would go to Rome to the aid of the Catholics, with an army of twenty thousand horse. Fortunately, the sickness of the pope, which daily increased, retarded the execution of this threat, and forced him to return to Monte Cas- sino, of which he had retained the govern- ment, notwithstanding the canons v.hich pro- hibited the cumulation of benefices. When he perceived his end approaching, he named the deacon Orderisus abbot of his monastery. Then having called around him the bishops and the cardinals, he induced them to pledge themselves to choose, as head of the Roman church, Otho, bishop of Ostia. As this eccle- siastic was present, Victor took him by the hand, and presenting him to those who sur- rounded him, said to them, "accept him as your chief, and ordain him as sovereign pon- tiff of Rome."' Didier died on the 16th of September, 1087, after a pontificate of a few months; he was interred in the chapel of the monastery of Monte Cassino. URBAN THE SECOND, THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY- FOURTH POPE. [A. D. 1087.] Intrigitcs for the election of a new pope — Urban obtains the papacy — History of Urban before his pontificate — He continues the policy of Gregory the Seventh — Schism of Germany — Urban induces Matilda to marry the young son of the duke of Bavaria — Councils of Mclfi and Bencventum — Affairs of France — Perfidy of the pope — Chastisement of Conrad — Urban be- comes master of Rome — Excornmunication of King Philip — Urban is recognized as the lawful pontiff in England — The pope comes to France — Council of Clermont — Journey of Peter the Hermit — Secret causes of the crusades — Harangue of the pope to excite the people to take the cross — Prodigious effect of his discourse — Religious fanaticism of the crusaders — Their cruel- ties— Departure of the crusa/lers — The pope returns to Itabi — Utility of the crusades for the Hohj See — History of the spiritual monarchy of Sicily — Council of the anti-Urbanists — Death of Urban. Aftf.h the death of Didier, the prelates, . on account of the diversity of sentiments in notwithstanding their desire to conform to the regard to the measures necessary to be adopt- wishes of the pontifT, by nominating as his ed in order to re-establish peace in the church, successor. Otho, cardinal bishop of Ostia, were j But fre"quent deputations having been sent to forced to separate before having chosen him, , them by the Romans, the Germans and the 380 HISTORY OF THE POPES. countess Matilda, beseeching them to give a chief to the clergy of the holy city, they as- sembled a second time, and drew up letters of convocation, pledging all the clergy and laity to assemble at Terracina during the second week in Lent, to proceed to the elec- tion of a pope. The meeting was held in the cathedral dedi- cated 10 St. Peter and St. Csesaire. At the open- ing of the session, the bishop of Tusculum read the decisions of Gregory and Victor for the government of the church. Orderisus, the abbot of Monte Cassino, the metropolitan of Capua, as well as the other prelates and lords who had been intimate with these two pon- tiffs, confirmed the exactness of these asser- tions. It was then decided that the fathers should, as usual, pass three days in prayer, fasting, and the bestowal of abundant alms, to obtain from God a manifestation of his will. On the following Sunday, they re-assembled anew in the same church, and after a secret deliberation, the three cardinals who govern- ed the council, mounted the tribunal of the church, and declared that they had chosen Otho sovereign pontiff. All the assistants approved of this choice by loud acclamations. The bishop of Albano then proclaimed him pope by the name of Urban the Second. They clothed him with a purple cape, and carried him on to the epis- copal seat of Terracina ; after which the holy father solemnly celebrated mass at the altar of St. Peter. The cardinals afterwards con- gratulated themselves on having nominated a pope who was as ambitious as his predeces- sors, and who laboured to increase their wealth at the same time that he extended the temporal power of the Holy See. Urban was the son of the lord of Lageri, and was named Eudes, or Otho. He had been brought up in the church of Rheims, under the direction of St. Bruno, then the chancellor of that cathedral. He afterwards became himself the canon of that metropolis, and was ordained archdeacon of Rheims in 1070. Some time after his promotion, having been surprised one night in the cell of a nun, he was obliged to retire to the abbey of Cluny, where St. Hugh named him prior. Finally, Gregory the Seventh, having become pope, called him to Rome in order to consecrate him bishop of Ostia, in place of a prelate who had obtained from Henry the investiture of that See. Otho then became the principal confi- dant of the policy of Hildebrand. During four years he remained attached to the person of the pontiff; and it was he who published in Germany the last bull of excommunication lanched by Gregory against the anti-pope Clement and Henry.' On the day succeeding his election. Urban addressed a circular to all the ecclesiastics of Italy and Germany, declaring to them, that he would follow in the footsteps of his prede- cessors. He then went to the monastery of Monte Cassino, and appointed the monk Gae- tan, deacon of the Roman church, attaching him to him in the capacity of a councillor. This monk afterwards occupied, in his turn, the chair of St. Peter by the name of Gelasus the Second. Induced by the councils of Gaetan, the pontiff" sent letters to the emperor Alexis Comnenus, to endeavour to bring about a re- union between the Greek and Latin churches. That prince listened favourably to these over- tures, and replied to the holy father, that he could, however, decide on nothing until he had himself come to Constantinople to con- voke a general council. But the .schism sup- ported in Rome by the anti-pope Guibert, was of more importance to Urban, and he was compelled to refuse the pacific overtures of Comnenus. In Germany, Gebehard still laboured with the same zeal for the party of the Holy See, and drew ofl~ to it a large number of schis- matics. As this prelate was desirous of pur- suing the excommunicated vigorously, he wrote to the holy father, to obtain from him the names of those whom he should signalize for the reprobation of the faithful. Urban replied to him : " I place in the first rank of the excommunicated the heretic Guibert of Ravenna, the usurper of the apostolic throne, and the king Henry ; then those who sustain them ; and finally all the clergy or laitv Mho commune with these two criminals. We do not, however, pronounce an anathema espe- pecially against all ; but we do not admit them to our communion without imposing on them a penance, which we regulate according to the degree of sin, whether these guilty ones have acted from ignorance, fear, or ne- cessity. We wish to treat with extreme se- verity those who have voluntarily fallen into the abyss. We confirm you," added the pontiff", ■' in the power of governing in our stead in Saxony, Germany, and the other neighbouring countries, in order that you may regulate all ecclesiastical affairs, in ac- cordance with the interests of the church." Whilst the pope was pursuing his intrigues in Germany, Italy, and even Greece, for the purpose of overthrowing Henry from his throne, the countess Matilda and Orderisus, the abbot of Monte Cassino, corrupted the partizans of the anti-pope Guibert, and drove him from Rome. Urban then re-entered the holy city ; but, being desirous of strengthening his power and preventing the return of his competitor, he induced Matilda, who was then forty-three years old, to marry the young son of Guelph, the duke of Bavaria. The holy father then went into Apulia; and, on the 10th of Septem- ber, 1089, held a council at Melfi, at which eighty Italian prelates and a great many lords, among whom was Duke Roger, did homage to the pope for all their states. The assembly decreed sixteen canons, which confirmed the old ordinances in rela- tion to investitures. They were prohibited from ordaining a sub-deacon under fourteen years of age, a deacon under twenty-four, and a priest under thirty. The acephali or inde- pendent clergy, and the vagabond monks, were condemned ; lords were permitted to seize on HISTORY OF THE POPES. 381 the concubines of priests and reduce them to a state of slavery ; and, finally, prelates were proliibited from admitting into the ecclesiasti- cal ranks men of a servile condition, and from bestowing on monasteries, without the consent of the pope, the tithes or churches which be- longed to laymen. Henry, informed of the progress which the Earty of the pope had made in Italy during is absence, hastened from the interior of Germany to destroy the powerful league which had been formed against him. He immedi- ately invaded Normandy, ravaged the states of Duke Guelph, the husband of the countess Matilda, and compelled him to sue for peace. But the dauntless countess broke off the ne- gotiations, and recommenced the war more terribly than before. On the subject of this war, the infamous re- ply made by the pope to Godfrey, bishop of Lucca, is cited, who consulted him to know what penance he was to inflict on priests who massacred the excommunicated. "Impose on them a light penance," wrote the holy fa- ther, •'' and one proportioned to the intent which presided over the murders, in accord- ance with the usage of the Roman church ; for we do not declare those homicides, who, burning with an holy zeal for religion, have murdered some e.xcommunicated." This sys- tem of morals was worthy of the confidant and successor of Gregory the Seventh. Henry, having settled his affairs in Ravaria and Sa.vony, seized on Mantua and marched at once on Rome. The Italians, fearful of the wrath of the prince, hastened to send an em- bassy to the anti-pope Clement the Third, who remounted the Holy See after an inter- regnum of two years. Urban did not, however, permit himself to be depressed by these reverses, He became bolder than ever ; and, not content with fill- ing Italy with anathemas, he lanched forth the thunders of the Vatican on France, on account of the marriage of Phillip the First with Rer- trade, the third wife of Foulk, count of An- jou. Ives of Chartres wished to oppose this alliance, but his remonstrances had brought on him disgrace from the king, antl a violent persecution. The pope, informed of this mat- ter, wrote to the metropolitan of Rheims and his suffragans, to reproach them with their silence on so scandalous a crime. " We order you," added the pope, " to seek out Phillip, and to warn him from God and us, that he must free himself from so horrible a crime by a severe penance ; for, if he despises our ad- monition, we shall be compelled to employ the spiritual sword against him. Use the same threats to him to compel him to .^et at liberty our brother Bishop Ives ; and if he re- fuses compliance to our wishes, anathematize him, close the churches, put his castles and his lands under interdict, prohibit his servants, his wife, even his children, from holding iii- lercour.se with him. We must impress such terror on these kings, that they will no more dare to seize the persons of ecclesiastics with- out our permission." Whilst the legates of the Holy See were on their way to Fiance, Urban formed the pro- ject of pushing on the young Conrad to a re- volt against King Henry his father. In fact, the prince raised the standard of revolt, and came to Milan to be crowned king of Italy by Anselm, the metropolitan of that city. The Italians ranged themselves in mass be- neath the standard of the young king. Henry was constrained to fly before the arms of his son, and retired into Germany. The anti-pope was driven from Rome, and Urban established himself in the city, without being, however, master of all its quarters, the German soldiers being able to maintain themselves in the pon- tifical palace, and in the upper parts of the city. The parlizans of Urban could not even freely traverse the streets ; and GeoflVy the new abbot of the Trinity of Vendome, having come to confer with the holy father, was obli- ged to disguise himself as a pilgrim in order to avoid the dangers he would have incurred without this precaution. Geoffry remained with the pope during all Lent in the year 1094, and sent to him a large sum of money, which he employed in corrupt- ing the troops of Henry. He concerted his plans so well, that a few days before Easter, the captain, Ferruchio. who commanded the guard at the palace of the Lateran, promised to give up to him the tower which commanded the castle, if he would give him a thousand pounds weight of gold. Urban, who had scarcely half the money, immediately called together the bishops and cardinals of his party, to obtain the money from them ; but none of them could afford him the least aid, being, like himself, deprived of the revenues of their dioceses. His atlliction was so great, he could not restrain his tears. The abbot Geoffry spoke, consoled the pope, and promised him that the traitor Ferruchio should be paid. In fact, the abbot sold his table equipage, his mules, and even his ecclesiastical ornaments. The sum was thus made up, and the holy father obtained possession of the palace of the Lateran. Geoffry was recompensed by being allowed to kiss his feet on the day of his in- stallation, and with the rank of cardinal, with the right to transmit it to his successors, the abbots of Vendome, who preserved it for more than three centuries. Letters from Hugh, the metropolitan of Ly- ons, were then received in Rome, who de- clared that he recognized Urban as the law- ful head of the church, asking for his commu- nion, and swearing eternal hatred against the schismatics. The pontiff was so moved by these protestations, that he not only admitted the prelate to his communion, but even made him his Ie2;ate in France. From that moment Hugh became one of the most devoted parti- zans of the con rt of Rome : he renewed the ana- thema pronounced against Henry and against the anti-pope Clement, and lanched a terrible e.vcommunication against Phillip the First, to punish him for having married Bertiade during the life of Bertha, his first wife. The king of France, fearful of the fatal 382 HISTORY OF THE POPES. consequences of the censures of the church, hastened to send embassadors to the holy father, to ask him to take off the excommu- nication pronounced against him by the arch- bishop of Lyons, promising to put an end to his intercourse with Bertrade ; but Ives of Chartres having already forewarned the holy father, that his deputation was but a trick and artifice on the part of Phillip, the craftiest of kings. Urban was unwilling to grant him a delay, permitting him, however, to use the crown at the festival of the saints. In order to understand the meaning of this authority, we must know that kings, in solemn ceremonials, appeared in public, clothed in royal ornaments, in order to impose on the stupid crowd, and received their crowns from the hands of a bishop, before placing it on their heads. Ives of Chartres, relates that the crown was presented to Phillip on Easter day, by the metropolitan of Tours, and on the day of Pentecost by a bishop of Belgium. This ceremony had no connection with that of consecration, which was only practised once, namely, at the commencement of each reign. Urban at last consolidated his authority in Rome, and his partizans became so numerous that he could traverse Italy without fearing the faction of the emperor Henrj-, and the anti-pope Clement. He then went to Pla- cenza in Lombardy, at which place he con- vened a council; in order to render justice to the empress Adelaide. More than two hun- dred bishops of Burgundy, Germany, Bavaria, and Saxony, assembled in this city ; they were followed by four thousand clergymen, and at least thirty thousand laymen. As there was no church large enough to hold such a multitude, they assembled in the open coun- try without the walls. The unfortunate queen appeared as a suppliant before the council, and related the violences which had been com- mitted against her. They excited the indig- nation of the assembly, and determined many Bchismatics. who had until this time supported Henry, to leave his party and range them- selves on the side of the pope. The condemnation of the errors of Berenger, in regard to the eucharist, was renewed in this council, and it was declared in formal terms, that the bread and wine after the con- secration were changed, not only in spirit but in essence, and became the actual body and blood of Christ. Strange aberration of the human mind ! A contradictory opinion will afterwards prevail, and another pope, also presiding over a council, will declare that the bread and wine after being consecrated by a priest, are changed in spirit and not in essence, and do not really become the body and blood of Jesus Christ ! The fathers condemned the heresy of the Nicolaites, that is of priests who maintained, relying on the authority of ihe gospel and the canons, that they were not obliged to preserve continence. They prohibited all clergymen stained with this error, from exercising eccle- siastical functions, and the people from assist- ing at divine service, when performed by these heretics ; they then confirmed all the decrees previously made in regard to simony, in order to prevent priests from exacting any pay for administering the holy unction, baptism and funeral rites; and finally they declared the ordinations made by the anti-pope Clement the Third, and by the other intrusive or ex- communicated bishops, null and void. After the termination of the council, the pontiff went to Cremona to confer with Con- rad on their political interests. The prince came to meet the holy father a mile from the city, and led his horse by the bridle as far as the palace ; he then took an oath of fidelity and obedience to Urban, promising on the Gospels and the cross to preserve the life, members, and dignity of the sovereign pontiff. Urban in turn, declared him the son of the Roman church, and promised him his aid and council to maintain him on the throne of Italy. The affairs of Lombardy were scarcely settled, when the holy father received letters from Anselm, the metropolitan of Canterbury, who informed him that England and King William the Red, recognized him as the law- ful pope, and rejected his competitor Clement. In the joy which this news caused him, Urban immediately nominated legates for Great Bri- tain, in order to send the pallium to the arch- bishop of Canterbury, and to compliment the English monarch. He then took his way towards France, went up the Rhine as high as Valence, and from that city went to Puy-en- Velay, where he celebrated the festival of the Assumption of Our Lady, and where he pub- lished the Bull which convoked the celebra- ted council of Clermont. Whilst waiting for the opening of the ses- sion, the holy father visited Cluny, near to Macon, where he had been a monk. He con- secrated the grand altar of the new church of the monastery : and on the same day caused three other altars to be dedicated by Hugh, the metropolitan of Lyons, Daibert of Pisa, and Bruno, bishop of Seigni. After the ceremony, Urban delivered the following discourse to the monks in the presence of the bishops and car- dinals : '■' Our predecessors, my brethren, have particularly loved and protected this abbey, and they have done so justly, since the ^jious duke William, its founder, was unwilling that it should have any protectors after God, but St. Peter and his successors. I am by the will of Providence, of this number; but none of those who have preceded me on the apos- tolic chairj has honoured this place by his presence. Christ has doubtless reserved this grace for me, because my youth flowed by in this solitude, and I have returned to the cell in which I prayed when a child, and I avow that the wish to again see it is the first and principal cause of my journey to France . . . ." The pope granted a territorial privilege to Cluny : and he himself marked out the bounds within which it was prohibited to exercise violence, pillage, capture, or mutilation. He then went to the council of Clermont, where he found already assembled, four hundred prelates who bore the cross, and thirteen me- HISTORY OF THE POPES, 383 tropolitans, as well as a great number of lords and muiiks. The lirst sitting was held on the 18th of November, 1095. They first confirmed ail the decrees which the pope had made in the synods of iMelfi, Beneventnm, Troyes, and Placenza. After which they renewed the proliibition of the usurpation of the property of ecclesiastics at their death; they decided that their wealth should be reserved for the successors in their dignities, or be distributed in pious works, as was provided for in their last wills. They also prohibited a clergyman, who h[id not been a deacon, from being chosen archdeacon, nor who had not been a priest, an archpriest. and from elevating to the epis- copate those who had not been deacons. They also established as a rule, that curates could never have two prebends in two differ- ent churches, nor two dignities in the same church; they decreed that no one could take the communion without receiving separately the eucharist under the two kinds, bread and wine ; and, finally, the truce of God was con- firmed to be maintained from tlie beginning of Advent to the Octave of the Epiphany, from Septuagisima to the Octave of Pentecost. and for the rest of the year during Thurstlay, Friday. Saturday, and Sunday, in each week; it was declared to e.xist for ever for priests and monk.s, and for three consecutive years for far- mers and merchants, on account of the dearth of provisions. Urban then declared -'the king of France excommunicated, as well as all those who shall call him king, or who shall obey him while he remains in his shame- ful sin." But the most remarkable of all the proceed- ings of this council, and that whose conse- quences were the most baneful for the nation, was undoubtedly the publication of the first crusade. Before investigating the secret po- licy of the popes, which excited the fanati- cism of the people, and urged them on to these extravagant expeditions, in which mil- lions of men perished, we must go back to the first cause of the crusades in ortler to re- mark their absurdity. Among the pilgrims who, about the year 1093, undertook the journey to the Holy Land, was a monk, a Frenchman by birth, born in the city of Amiens, in Picardy, nameil Peter the Hermit. This monk, during his sojourn at Jerusalem, paid several visits to the patriarch of that city, who gave him an exau:2:erated account of the evils under which the Christians of Judea laboured from the sway of the Mus- sulmen. Peter, ambitious like all other monks, seized with avidity on the opportunity which offered itself to him, of acquiring a certain kind of importance, and promised the patri- arch to ask aid from the pope against the iafi leis. On his return to Italy, he presented himself at the court of Rome, which he found fully disposed to second his views, not from zeal for religion, but from secret motives of policy, as Urban alnvidy well knew all the advan- tages he could derive from an expedition. which was to take the lords from their do- mains, and leave the population to the discre- tion of the priests. One historian, Jovian, affirms that Peter was not a hermit; that he never was at Jeru- salem, and that he was in the whole matter but an agent of the Holy See, charijed with the successful issue of the knaveries of the pope. "He received." adds he, "a large amount of gold, for playing the part which he did in the end, and for depictmg, in emphatic terms, the piteous slate, in order to lead away senseless persons to the conquest of this land of Canaan, which, for three hundred years, was constantly watered by the blood of fanati- cal crusaders." Christianity was then extinguished in the East; the Mussnlmen had already conquered the greater part of Asia jNIinor; they attacked the pilgrims, took from them presents destined for the holy sepulchre, and constrained them to pay a ransom to retleem themselves- from slavery. On the other hand, Alexis Comne- nus, seeing his capital threatened by the infi- dels, hail sent embassadors to Europe, implo- ring the aid of the French, Germans, and English; but his entreaties had been treated with contempt, and the people of the West refused to combat for the cowardly Comnenus. The wily Greek then turned to the Holy See, and bound himself by an oath to recognize Urban as universal bishop, anil to submit all the churches of his empire to him, if he should determine the princes of the West to make an irruption into the East. The bargain was concluded, and the intervention of Peter the Hermit, or rather the intrigues of the politic Urban, led to the council of Clermont. We cite as a model of furious eloquence and sublime hypocrisy, the harangue of the holy father on this memorable circumstance. " We are, beyond doubt, happy to see our presence excite acclamations in this great and illustrious assembly; but we cannot conceal beneath the appearances of deceitful joy, the marks of profound sadness; and your hearts will see in bitterness, and your eyes will shed torrents of tears, when you regard with me, my brethren, the misfortunes of Christianity, and our negligence of the faithful of the East. '• Thanks be to God, we have almost entirely extirpated the heresy which desolated the Western church ; we have exterminated ob- stinate schismatics by fire or sword; we have reformed the abuses and augmented the do- mains and riches of the Holy See. Notwith- standing this success our soul remains plunged in sailuess, and we declare to you that we will taste of no repose until the implacable enemies of the Christian name shall be driven from the holy land, which they outrage by their impious and .sacrilegious conduct. " Yes, dear brethren, Jeru.salem. the city of God, that heritage of Christ, which has been bequeathed to us by the Saviour, that venerated land, in which all the divine myste- ries have been accomplished, has been for several centuries in the sacrilegious hands of the Siiraceas and Turks, who triumph over 384 HISTORY OF THE POPES. God himself. Who can tell the horrible pro- fanations which they commit in these holy places 1 They have overthrown the altars, broken the crosses, destroyed the churches ; and if in their rage they have spared the church of St. Sepulchre, it was only from a sentiment of avarice, for they have speculated on the devotion of the faithful, who go from all parts of the world to the divine tomb. They exact a ransom from pilgrims to permit them to penetrate into the holy places ; they then despoil them, when they permit to go away, and even attack them when they regain their vessels ; in order to seize on their persons and reduce them to the harshest slavery. " And we, children of Christ, contemplate the massacre of our brethren coldly and with- out indignation ; we appear indifferent to out- rages which the barbarians commit on God ; we abandon quietly to them an heritage which belongs to us alone ; we allow them peace- fully to enjoy a conquest which is the shame of all Christendom, and we remain their tribu- taries without daring to claim our rights by force of arms. '• Christians, however, do not shun battle, since almost all Europe is tilmost constantly at war; but the swords which should extermi- nate the enemies of Christ are drawn against himself and strike his sacred members. How long will you leave the Mussulmen masters of the East 1 Arise from your lethargy, which has destroyed our holy religion "? A single one of our armies could easily triumph over the infidel ; but our quarrels and intestine wars constantly decimate us and add strength to our foes. What great things we could ac- complish if the princes of the West were not obliged to keep their troops about them in order to defend them from the attacks of their neighbours, and if the Spirit of God would unite our efforts in so beautiful an enterprise! We hojie that he will lend eloquence to our words, and will descend into your hearts that you may comprehend this important truth. *• We have chosen from preference this most Christian kingdom to give an e.xample to other people, because we recollect that it was your ancestors, the Franks, who exhibited so great a zeal for religion, and because we hoped you would reply to the voice of God and draw all Europe in your steps. The people of the Gauls have already been formidable adversa- ries to the Huns, the African Moors and the Arabs; already under the leading of Charles Martel and of Charlemagne, have they exter- minated armies of infidels more numerous than thi^ sands of the sea ; now your legions will be still more terrible, your victories more brilliant, because you will combat under the standard of the God of armies, who sends you to conquer the heritage of his Son, and who orders you to drive the infidels from the holy sepulchre. "Follow, intrepid Franks, the chief who calls you to the succour of religion, to the suc- cour of your brethren of the East, to the suc- cour of Christ himself ! See that divine Saviour who sallied forth victorious over the world, | death, and hell ; he i^ now a slave to the Sara- cens ; he presents to you his cross ; he gives it to you as the sacred emblem under which you are to conquer his enemies and acquire eternal glory. Do not forget that Cod, by my mouth, promises you the victory and abandons to you the rich spoils of the infidels. Those who shall shed their blood in this sacred war, shall receive the ineffable crown of martyr- dom ; if, however, fear of death . . . ." Ur- ban was about to continue, when he was in- terrupted by a general uproar; the assistants shed tears, struck their breasts, raised their eyes and hands to heaven, all exclaiming to- gether, " Let us march, God wills it ! God wdlls it !" The pope taking advantage of this emotion, rose from his throne, extended his hand as if to demand silence, and added, " What more magnificent expression of the divine will can there be than these simple words, ' God wills it,' issuing simultaneously from every mouth. Dear children, you have followed the inspira- tion of the Holy Spirit, and we receive this revelation as an oracle which guarantees the success of a war which God himself comes to declare. Let this sublime expression be the device of the army ; let us engrave it on our standards and our breasts, that it may become the cry of soldiers and chiefs in combat. Yes, God wills it ! Let us march to the holy sepul- chre; let us go to deliver Christ, and until the blessed day on which we restore him to liberty, let us carry like him, on our right shoulders^ the holy cross, on which he expired to snatch us from the slavery of sin." The holy father then declared, that the truce of God decreed by the council should last for the Crusaders during the whole expedition, and that before their return from the Holy Land they should not be attacked either in goods or person; he freed them from all the penalties against them, and granted to them unlimited indulgences for all the robberies and murders they had committed. He ap- pointed as apostolic legate of the crusade, Aymar de Monteil, bishop of Puy, a prelate of consummate prudence, of heroic courage, and who had made the fervour of his zeal conspicuous by being the first of all in the council to ask for the cross, and permission to devote himself to the service of Christianity. Finally, the pontiff, on dismissing the assem- bly, ordered all ecclesiastics every where to preach the crusade for the deliverance of Jesus Christ. Urban thus concealing his ambitious views beneath the veil of religion, excited the fanati- cism of the people of the West, and promptly brought together an army of six hundred thou- sand foot and one hundred thousand horse- men. "Then," says Bsovius, "men went in crowds, without distinction of age or condi- tion, after the princes who departed on the cru- sade ; women even exhibited an ardour alto- gether martial, and an Amazonian intrepidity; miracles were not wanting to the priests in order to deceive the simplicity of the faithful, to urge them into the Levant, where they died HISTORY OF THE POPES. 385 by thousands, through famine or the pesti- lence." This periodj adds the historian, has been more fertile in superstitions than any other; but independently of the religious motives which led so many men of honest faith, ihe greatest part of the Croises only vent into Asia from love of pillage, and be- cause there was nothing more to pillage in their own country. Albert also affirms, that these bands of Croises were composed of perjurers, adulter- ers, incestuous persons, thieves, and assas- sins; and that with them pillage was the true end of this holy expedition. William of Tyre, the monk Guibert and the Jesuit Maim- burg avow that they resembled an army of brigands. Finally, Bayle exclaims: "Who will dare maintain that these monsters, who exhibited so much ardour for the Holy Land, were the flower of Christendom 1 Could those wretches who abandoned their country, their wives and their children, to go and fight against the infidels, be called the soldiers of Christ? No, for those hypocrites \\ho pre- tendetPto see angels and saints at the head of their armies, were but pillagers and assassins ; they violated women, deflowered young girls, and murdered those who granted them hos- pitality. The cruelty and depravity of those barbarians were so great, that the Christians of Asia whom the)' went to succour, evinced more fear at their approach than at the arri- val of Turks and Saracens. The crusades are assuredly the most hideous pages of the history of Christianity. . . ." Whilst the emissaries of the Holy See were traversing all Christian kingdoms, preaching the crusade, the pope was traversing France, assembling councils, selling privileges, dis- tributing indulgences, and promising the honours of martyrdom to all the faithful. Finally, he fixed the period of departure for Jerusalem, on the day of the Assumption in the same year, 1096. Urban then came to Tours ; he catechized the people on the banks of the Loire, in the presence of a great number of bishops and lords, among whom was Foulk, count of Anjou. He also held a council of the bishops of the province, and di-^missed them on the fourth Sunday in Lent, after a solemn proces- sion, in which he appeared in a crown of thorns, according to the custom at Eome. In this ceremony, the count of Anjou received the golden rose which the popes were accus- tomed to bless on that day. No trace of this practice is found previous to that century. It consisted in consecrating a ro.se which was full of musk and balm, and ofTerinfr it after the ceremony to a prince or lord whom the Holy See wished to honour. The pontiff also visited Poictiers, Saintes, Bordeaux, iVIairuel- lonne and Nismes, where he also convoked a council. Finally, the day of departure for the holy land having arrived, the armies of the Croises began to move on all points; the first troop was commanded by Walter the Penniless, whose surname sufficiently informs us of the Vol. L 2Y true motive of his ardour for the crusade. He departed on the 8th of March, 1096, with a multitude of persons clothed in rags, and on foot like himself. They took the route through Germany and stopped at Mayence and Co- logne. '-'They there committed so many hor- rors and atrocities," says the monk Guibert, '' that the citizens barricaded themselves in their houses to escape from the barbarity of these monsters. Mothers become furious, murdered the infants whom they nourished; husbands poinarded their wives, and young people put them.selves to death, to avoid fall- ing into the hands of those merciless fanatics who bore the cross on the shoulder." These first bands were followed by forty thousand vagabonds, led by Peter the Hermit, and recruited in France or on the borders of Germany. A monk, named Gondescale, went by the way of Hungary, having as his train an army of fifteen thousand pillagers. They committed so many atrocities by the way, that the exasperated inhabitants rose in mass and massacred them to the last man. Rut this gallant nation was .soon exterminated by two hundred thousand bandits, who fell upon its cities and plains. Urban returned to Italy, escorted by a troop of French Croises, who had at their head Robert, duke of Normandy, and Stephen, count of Blois. By their aid the pontiff en- tered Rome in triumph, and drove the parti- zans of the anti-pope Guibert from the fort- resses which they occupied, excepting the castle of San Angelo, which remained alone in the power of the enemy. On the other hand, the troops of the countess Matilda drove the army of Henry out of Lombaidy, and forced it to fall back on Germany. Whilst the pope was thus labouring to con- solidate his sway in Italy, the crusaders em- barked for Constantinople. The ambitious Bohemond, the son of Robert Guiscard, duke of Apulia, cherished the hope of conquering for himself the Greek empire, and of availing himself of the crusades to assure his entry into Constantinople. He asked permission from the emperor Alexis for .seven thousand Knights to cross his states. U^rban was charged by the prince with the negotiation ; but the emperor who had already been informed of the acts of brigandage committed by the Croises on their route, and of the plans of the ambitious Bohemond, a crafty, implacable, and hypoi^ritical man, conducted himself so pruilently in his intercourse with them, that the leaders of the Western Christians found it impossible to favour the designs of Bohemond. Before the arrival of the troops, Alexis was careful to send officers who established im- mense markets and furnished an abundance of provisions to the soldiery to prevent their pillaging. He attached to every corps, inter- preters who understood the Roman tongue, which was then beginning to become the common languageof the Gauls; he instructed them to put an end to any differences which might break out between the Franks and the Greek population, with the express recom- 33 386 HISTORY OF THE POPES. mendation not to spare money, to place all his ships at the dispo.sal of the crusaders, and to heap great marks of honour on all the lea- ders. Notwithstanding all these wise precautions, the crusaders sacked the environs of Constan- tinople, burned the dwellings, massacred the cultivators, forced the convents of the nuns, and. in their thirst for pillage, tore even the leaden roofs from the churches to sell them to the Jews. Anna Comnena, the daughter of the em- peror, relates, that Peter the Hermit was one of the most cruel and rapacious of the leaders of the crusade. "His soldiers," adds the his- torianess, -''committed such frightful atroci- ties in the environs of Nice, that the other crusaders were indignant at them. ' They cut children to pieces to eat them in stews ; they placed them on spits and roasted them alive ; they forced the mothers of these vic- tims to drink the blood which flowed from their bodies; they assuaged their brutality on these unfortunate females and then murdered them. Finally, they outraged nature -with young people, and then hung them up by the hair, or the beard, and amused themselves with cutting off their arms or their legs by a single blow of the sword ' " Several French lords, eaten up by ambition, joined the army of the crusaders, in hopes of placing a royal crown on their brow, and concealed their projects under an hypocritical mask. Anna Comnena thus expresses her- self concerning them. '' Hugh the Great, the brother of the king of France, was very proud of his birth ; before his departure, he wrote to the emperor Alexis, ' Prince, you are invited to come with pomp and magnilicence to meet me ; for know, that I am the king of kings, and the greatest prince under heaven.' Our skilful emperor, after having read this letter, sent orders to John, the son of Isaac, the governor of Durazzo, and to Nicholas Maurocatocalan, who commanded the fieet to watch, in order to apprize him of the arrival of the French prince. As soon as Hugh reached Lombardy, he sent to Durazzo twenty-four embassadors, covered with cuirasses and cuisses of gold, to prepare lodgings for his train. They said to the governor, '•' Know, duke, that our master, Hugh the Great, is about to arrive in this city, having taken the standard of St. Peter at Rome. He is the generalissimo of the army of the Franks; prepare, then, to receive him in a manner suitable to his dignity, and to vender him the honours he deserves, or you will have to dread the power of his arms." Such were the soldiers and leaders whom the policy of Rome pushed into the East. This war of extermination was only profitable to the Holy See and the clergy, who took under their protection the domains of the crusaders, and seized on their revenues in their capacity of tutors or curators of the widows, pupils and minors. The Jesuit Maimburg, always so devoted to the court of Rome, admits, how- ever, that it augmented hs wealth prodigiously by the spoils of the crusaders. He relates that Godfrey of Bouillon, pledged all his patri- mony in order to obtain the sums necessary to equip the troops whom he led to the Holy Land. "He sold," adds the historian, "his countships of Bouillon and Ardennes to Au- bert, bishop of Liege, whose successors re- mained possessors of them. Richer, bishop of Verdun, also availed himself of the crusades to purchase the city and castle of Stenay, with their dependencies and all the other do- mains which the brother of Godfrey surren- dered to that lord. Thus, whilst secular princes were impoverishing themselves to serve Christ, churchmen took advantage of the religious enthusiasm to enrich themselves with their spoils " An incredible number of crusaders perished miserably in Palestine, or were massacred by the infidel ; some bodies of them, better dis- ciplined, or better led, alone arrived at Jeru- salem, on which they seized, after having suffered all the horrors of pestilence and fa- mine. Urban continued his intrigues in Italy^push- ed on Roger, duke of Apulia, the son of Robert Guiscard, into a war with his uncle Roger, tluke of Calabria and count of Sicily ; he even came beneath the walls of Capua to confer with him on the means of assuring their sway forever in the peninsula ; but on the news that their enemy was at Salerno with imposing forces, he betra)-ed his new ally, and made a treaty with the count of Sicily, whom he ap- pointed legate of the Holy See, although he was a layman. This remarkable act conferred on Roger and his successors a kind of royal theocracy over Sicily; the following is its tenor : — " Count, in gratitude for the services you have rendered the church by your valour in extending the sway of the popes over the land taken from the Saracens, and particular- ly to recompense the devotion which you have always manifested to the Holy See, we give to you and your heirs, the power of go- verning, in the name of St. Peter, the spiritual and temporal affairs of Sicily." One author alone, Hamelot de la Houssaye, has maintained that this decretal is apochryphal ; but all other historians, and among them, monks and priests, have recognized its authenticity, and relate that it was subscribed by Urban the Second, on the 5th of July, 1098, in the city of Salerno. Thus, an infallible pope declared that it was not necessary to be an ecclesiastic in order to have the right of governing the churches of a kingdom, and of representing the Holy See ; that is to say, of ordaining bishops, presiding over councils, anathematizing priests, and re- ceiving the offerings and tithes which super- stition wienches from ignorant and credulous people. A pontiff has thus sanctioned the here- ditary transmission of this unlimited power, and as the states of Sicily do not recognize the Salic law, he has given to females the right to be at once queens and popes; and the in'contestable proof that this right was conse- crated by Urban is, that the ancient manu- HISTORY OF THE POPES. 337 scripts of the sLxteenth century recognize Jane the Simple by the title of most blessed; and most sanctified holy father. " During this century," says Sismondi, "there were four pontifTs and four sacred colleges in Christen- dom. One pope was seated at Rome, another ai Constantinople, a popess in Sicily, and a popess in England." Whilst the holy father was at Salerno, the faction of Guibert rose up again in Rome, and was soon sufficiently powerful openly to hold a council, at which eight cardinals, four bishops, six priests, and a great number of deacons and monks a.ssisted. Urban was so- lemnly anathematized by the fathers, who made this tlecree : " We are unwilling to leave the faithful hi ignorance, that we have assem- bled in council to destroy the heresies intro- duced into the church by the monk Hilde- brand and the imitators of his policy. We consequently publish the condemnation of Pope Urban, and of all who recognize him. We, however, permit the guilty to plead their cause before us, promising them, even though they should be condemned, entire safety for their persons until the festival of All Saints, because we do not thirst for blood, and sin- cerely desire peace, truth, and unity in the church." This was the last effort of the party of the anti-pope. Urban, on his return, dis- persed his enemies. During the following year, the pontiff con- vened a general synod in the church of the Lateran, to the canonization of St. Nicholas Peregrini. One might be surprised to find saints in this age of corruption ; but if we study the history of the church, we will dis- cover that saints, like miracle.s, have been most numerous in proportion as ignorance and superstition have been most profound. Bi- zancus, the metropolitan of Trany, presented to the fathers, according to custom, the rela- tion of the pious acts and prodigies performed by Nicholas Peregrini, and the pope made the following decree : " We place in the cata- logue of saints the venerable Nicholas, sur- named Peregrini, and we order that he be honoured by the church." By virtue of this decision, the Archbishop Bizancus erected a church in honour of the new saint, and sold his relics to a community of monks, who ex- posed them to the veneration of the faithful, and made use of them to extort offerings and money from devotees. The assembly then received a deputation of monks from the abbey of Molesme, who came to accuse Robert, their abbot, of having abandoned them in order to retire with some fanatics to a place called Cisterium in Latin, and Citeaux in the Roman tongue, w hich was five leagues from Dijon, which was a desert covered with woods and rocks. They had commenced clearing it. having dug out some cells in a rock, and having then built some others with branches of trees, covered with thatch. Robert gradually increased the num- ber of his monks ; and, authorized by Eudes of Burgundy and the archbishop of Lyons, he built a church, which was solemnly conse- crated on Palm Sunday, in the year 1099, the day of St. Benedict. Such was the foundation of the celebrated abbey of Citeaux. The monks of Molesme claimed their holv abbot, whose absence caused notable preju- dice to their convent ; and they obtained a decree which declared Robert deprived of his title of abbot, if he refused to return to his old monastery. Robert consequently returned to Molesme, and the new monks of Citeaux were compelled to proceed to an election to replace him. After the termination of this council, chro- nicles make no further mention of the acts of Urban. We only know that he died on the 29th of July, 1099. Pride, avarice, ambition and hypocrisy form- ed the character of Urban. He walked in the footsteps of Hildebrand; and, although he did not possess the energy and talents of that monk, he knew how, however, by means of a perfidious policj', to re-establish the authority of the Holy See, which the pride of Gregory the Seventh had strongly compro- mised. 388 HISTORY OF THE POPES. THE TWELFTH CENTURY. PASCAL THE SECOND, THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY- FIFTH POPE. Character of the ttcelfth century — The origin of Pascals-Election of a pontiff — Conquests of the crusaders — Consequences of the schisrn caused by the anti-pojie Guibert and the emperor Henry — Quarrel about the investitures — Councils of Poictiers and Rome — Letter of the pope to the metropolitan of Guesne — Nciv council at Rome — The countess Matilda reneivs the act of do- nation of her property to the Holy See — Reply of Ives of Chartrcs to the complaints made against him — Revolt of young Henry against his father — Henry the Fourth makes his sub- mission to the Holy See-^Infamous letter of the pope — Rejily of the clergy of Liege — Prepa- rations for a neiv crusade — The pontiff" goes to France — The Eastern church — Quarrels between the pope and king of Germany — The pope is made prisoner — Revolt of the Romans — Pascal grants the investitures — He is set at liberty — Coronation of the emperor — The pope is accused of heresy — He wishes to renounce the pontificate — Councils of the Lateran, of Ceperan. and of Beauvais — Neic seditions against the pope — The emperor enters Rome at the head of an army — The pope flies — His death — His character. The history of the church in the twelfth century affords a long train of horrible crimes and infamous corruptions. Cardinal Baronius, the zealous defender of the popes, himself avows, that it appeared as if antichrist then governed Christendom. St. Bernard, who lived in these deplorable time,s, wrote to Gan- frid : "Having had for some days the happi- ness of seeing the pious Nobert, and of listening to some words from his mouth, I asked him what were his thoughts with re- gard to antichrist. He replied to me that this generation would certainly be exterminated by the enemy of God and of men; for his reign had commenced." Bernard de Morlaix, a monk of Cluny. their contemporary, also wrote : "The golden ages are past; pure souls exi.st no longer; we live in the last times; fraud, impurity, rapine, schisms, quarrels, wars, treasons, incests, and inurders, desolate the church. Rome is the impure city of the hunter Nimrod ; piet)' and religion have deserted its walls. Alas ! the pontiff, or rather the king, of this odious Babylon, tramples under foot the Gospels and Christ, and causes himself to be adored as a God." Finally, Honorius, the priest of Antron, ex- pressed himself with still more energy con- cerning the clergy. "Behold," cried he, " these bishops and cardinals of Rome ! the.se worthy ministers who surround the throne of the Beast ! They are constantly occupied with new iniquities, and never cease commit- ting crimes. Not only do these wretches abandon themselves to all kinds of depravity with young deacons, but they even wish to oblige the clergy of the provinces to imitate them. Thus, in all the churches, the priests neglect divine service, soil the priesthood by their impurities; deceive the people by their hypocrisy; deny God by their works; render themselves the scandal of nations,' and forge a chain of iniquities to bind men. These are the blind who precipitate themselves into the abyss, and drag with them the simple ones who follow them. " Look also at those monks ! Knavery and hypocrisy shelter- themselves beneath their cowls ; the frock covers every vice : gorman- dizing, cupidity, avarice, luxury, and sodomy. Examine also those convents of nuns. The Beast has made his bed in those dormitories, all of whose couches are defiled by the most horrid debauchery. These abominable girls no longer choose the Virgin for their model; they take Phryna and Messalina: they no longer prostrate themselves before Christ, but before an idol of Priapus. The reign of God has finished, and that of antichrist has com- menced ; a new law has replaced the old ; scholastic theology has sallied from the depths of hell to strangle religion; finall)^, there are no longer morality, tenets, nor worships — and lo ! the last times announced in the Apoca- lypse have come ! . ." Pascal the Second was worthy to occupy the apostolic throne at this deplorable pe- riod. Before he was pope, he was called Rainerius, or Regnerus. Italy was his coun- try, and his father dwelt at Bleda, in Tus- cany, eight leagues from Rome. In his child- hood he had been . sent to the abbey of Cluny, to be instructed in the sacred Scrip- tures, where he afterwards embraced the ecclesiastical state. At the age of twenty, he was sent by his community to Rome, to treat of an important matter with the pope. Gregory the Seventh, who was then reigning, surprised at the address and tenacity of the young monk, wished to retain him at his court, and attached him to his person in the capacity of scribe. Some time afterwards, he ordained him a cardinal priest ; and finally the young Rainerius became abbot of St. Paul's during the pontificate of Urban the Second. After the death of that pope, the cardinals, bishops, other ecclesiastics and notables of the city, having assembled in the church of St. Clement, to proceed to a new election, chose the cardinal Rainerius unanimously. The latter, in accordance with the custom of the successors of the apostle, immediately HISTORY OF THE POPES, 389 escaped from the church, iu order to be brought back in triumph to the assembly. The prothonotary of St. Peter cried out three times — "Pascal is pope !" and the assistants replied by the same acclamations. They then clothed him with a scarlet cape and the tiara, and conducted him on horseback to the southern door of the palace of the Lateran. He then dismounted, walked up the steps of the porch, and entered the saloon in which were the two porphyry chairs. A girdle was then fastened round him, to which were at- tached seven keys and seven seals, which indicated the seven spiritual gifts, by which the pope could bind or loose in heaven. He was then placed alternately, and half reclin- ing, on each of the seats ; and when all the proofs were gone through, the pastoral baton was given to him, and he took possession of the apostolic throne. On the ne.\t day, Pascal was consecrated by Otho, bishop of Ostia, as- sisted by four prelates. Berthold affirms, that his election was mi- raculous and divine, and that it was revealed in several visions to a large number of eccle- siastics and monks. Some months after his election, the holy father received a letter from Palestine, which was addressed to all the faithful, and in which the crusaders gave a detailed recital of their conquests, from the capture of Nice to that of Jerusalem. Pascal wrote them a long letter, in which he dwelt principally on the discovery of the holy lance which had pierced the Saviour, and which was miraculously found at the siege of An- tioch. He claimed from their piety the gift of several very precious relics, and of a great part of the true cross which had been disinterred at Jerusalem. He also advised them of the departure of his legate, Maurice, bishop of Porto, w ho was about to rejoin them, fortified with the necessary powers to regulate the in- terests of the Holy See in the churches which had been conquered by the infidel. From the very commencement of his pon- tificate, Pascal continued the policy of his predecessor.*, and pursued Henry the Fourth, king of Germany, and the anti-pope Guibcrt, who was the creature of that monarch. He did this the more successfully, as he was sus- tained by Count Roger, who sent him seven thousand ounces of gold and a well disciplined army, in e.\change for the spiritual and tem- poral sovereignty of Sicily. The anti-pope was soon besieged in the city of Albano, his residence, and he was about falling into the hands of his competitor, when he wa.s enabled to escape ; but in his flight the unfiprtunate Guibert was poisoned by one of his domestics, gained by the gold of Pascal. The death of Guibert could not, however, subdue the schismatics, and they chose a new pontiff named Albert. But treason still came to the aid of Pascal. The anti-pope was seized on the very day of his election and confined in the dungeons of the monastery of St. T-aw- rence. King Henry nominated the priest Th(>o- doric to rt^place Albert. Three months after his consecration, the new anti-pope was also carried off by the agents of the Holy See. and conlined in the abbey of Lava. The obstinate schismatics then chose the priest Maginuljjh, who was enabled to maintain himself for some days. Pascal drove him from Rome, and the unfortunate man died in exile. Peace at last seemed restored to the church and Italy, under the government of Conrad, when death suddenly carried off that young prince. This unfortunate event became the signal for new disorders. Pascal j)ublished that Conrad had been poisoned by his father. He e.vcited the people to avenge the martyr, and ordered the citizens to take up arms. Hut this new sedition was fjuickly stifled by the king of Germany, and Pascal was constrained to write to him, beseeching him to restore peace to the church, by assisting at a council which had been convoked at Rome. At this period, England was a prey to the violent dissensions which had been excited by Archbishop Anselm on the subject of inves- titures. Ihis prelate, devoted to the Holy See, had excited these quarrels in order to avenge himself on King William the Red, who had refused to recognize Urban the Second as the legitimate pontiff. The prince had in turn punished the metropolitan, by depriving him of the primacy of Great Britain, and by taking from him the benefices he had seized. Anselm went to Rome, to obtain, by means of his intrigTies, a bull which should constrain the king, under penalty of excommunication, to re-instate him in all his honours, and to re- instal him in the enjoyment of the revenues of the See of Canterbury, and of the churches or monasteries dependa:it on that archbishopric, with which he had invested other bishops by royal ordinances. Pa.^cal. faithful to his policy, approved of the conduct of the prelate ; and, in a council held at Rome, he pronounced an anathema against all laymen who should be- stow ecclesiastical investitures, or should re- ceive presents to confirm them. Notwithstanding the declaration of the holy father, William was immovable in his deter- mination, and Anselm could not return to England until after the death of that prince. His successor Henry the First, having also re- fused to conform to the decisionsof the court of Rome, the metropolitan loudly declared against the Norman kings ; hi' threatened Henry with anathematizing him, in virtue of the canons of the la.st council of Rome ) he demanded, in the name of the pope, Peter's pence : and excited the greatest part of the English clergy against the throne. Pascal, informed by the archbishop of the progress which the insurrection was making, wrote to him, to congratulate him on his apos- tolic vigour, adding: ''Robert, duke of Nor- mandy, has laid before us his complaints against the king of Great Britain, his brother, who has seized upon the crown to his detri- ment by giving to the people a constitution, which he calls a charter of liberty. You are not ignorant that our aid and protection are due to Robert, who has laboured for the deliver 33* 390 HISTORY OF THE POPES, ance of Asia. It is on this account that we are pledged to maintain the just rights of this prince against Henry. . . ." The kmg learned that the duke of Normandy was about to make a descent on England, hoping to be seconded hi his plans by the nobles and priests. The wary Henry then called to his court the metropolitan Anselm, and won him back to his party by brilliant promises. The arch- bishop, gained over by the presents of the inonarch, laboured for his interests, re-af- firmed in their duty the ecclesiastics whose fidelity was wavering, and brought back to the army of Henry the nobles whom he had detached from it. Thus, when Robert dis- embarked in England, those who had at first favoured his intentions showed themselves op- posed to his pretensions, and he was obliged to accept a rental of three thousand marks of silver, which his brother engaged to pay him yearly for his renunciation of the crown. Such was the end of that war which threat- ened Great Britain whh a new revolution. As soon as quiet was restored, Anselm came to claim from Henry the price of his devotion, and the services which he had rendered him ; but the monarch, who had no longer any need of the archbishop, replied to him harshly, that he had better retire as soon as possible to his diocese, if he wished to avoid the chastise- ment which his treason merited. At the same time, he spat upon him before all his court, and threw in his face a letter which he had received from Rome. This missive, which had so strongly excited the indignation of Henry, was conceived in these terms : '■'■ An- selm has informed us that you arrogate to yourself the right of investiture, and that you attribute to tlie royal power an authority which belongs to God alone ; for Christ has said : ' I am the door.' A king, then, cannot be the door of the church ; and ecclesiastics who en- ter the priesthood by the will of sovereigns are not shepherds, but robbers. Your pre- tensions are unworthy of a Chiistian, and the Holy See cannot approve of them. Do you not knowj that St. Ambrose would have suf- fered every punishment, rather than permit Theodosius to dispose of the dignities and property of the church ; and are you ignorant of his reply to that emperor : ' Do not think, Caesar, that you have any rights over divine things. Palaces belong to princes, churches •to the pope ' " The archbishop of Canter- bury, furious at the signal insult he had receiv- ed, quitted the court, and returned to his See to excite new enemies against the king. Henry, on his side, pursued the metropoli- tan and his partizans with the greatest rigour ; and threatened to refuse obedience to the pope, and prevent the collection of Peter's pence in his kingdom, if he did not recognize the right of ecclesiastical investitures to reside in the crown. In this extremity, Anselm con- vened a provincial council, at which the com- missioners of the king assisted, at which it was determined to send deputies to Rome to confer with the pope, and put a final end to these deplorable quarrels. The embassadors, having arrived in the holy city, were admit- ted into the presence of Pascal to explain to him the cause of their journey and the inten- tions of the king. At first, the pope was unable to reply, so violent was his rage. He then rose from his seat, dashed it upon the floor, and exclaimed with frightful blasphemies : " Not if it were a question of my head, will the threats of a king force me to yield a single one of the preroga- tives of the apostolic throne ! Jleturn to your master, and tell him to dread how he raises the holy anger of the vicar of Gotl." He then wrote to the archbishop of Canterbury to in- duce him to resist more vigorously than ever the pretensions of the monarch. Henry, irritated by the insolence of the pope, immediately assembled the lords of his kingdom at London, and caused the archbi- shop Anselm, the cause of the dissensions, to appear before it, in order that he might hear the royal sentence which exiled him from Great Britain. The metropolitan made no complaint, and embarked the same day for Italy. This apparent submission of the proud pre- late mdnced the monarch to fear fresh trea- son ; and, in order to disconcert his machina- tions at the court of Rome, he sent immedi- ately into Italy, and by land, William of Varevast, with full powers to put an end to all the differences existing between the crown and the Holy See. The embassador used such speed, that he arrived in the holy city a month before the archbishop, and had time to gain to the side of the king a large number of the priests and cardinals. Finally, Anselm made his entry into the holy city, and, on the next day, Pascal convoked a council of the bishops, cardinals, and priests of all Italy, to hear the accusations of the metropolitan of Canterbury against Henry, and to judge of the reclamations which that prince had addressed to the pope through his deputy. William of Varevast presented the case of his master with great skill, and displayed a rare eloquence, which excited the applause of the whole assembly. Anselm and the pope alone remained immovable, without per- mitting their sentiments to be known. Wil- liam, interpreting the silence of the pontiff, as well as the applause of the other ecclesiastics, as certain signs of a victory, added with as- surance : "All Italy must learn, that the so- vereign, my master, will not suffer the inves- titures ever to be taken from him, when lie would, in defence of this right, lose his king- dom." At these last words, the pontiff sud- denly rose, and, looking at the embassador with a fierce and imperious air, replied to him in a voice of thunder: "Know, then, embas- sador of Henrv, that Pascal, though it should cost him his life, and we swear it before God, will never permit a layman to govern the church." There was no need of more to change their minds, and the fathers, rising tumultuously. e.xcommunicated the king, as well as the lords who elevated clergymen to ecclesiastical dignities. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 391 Notwithstanding this victory, Anselm could not return to England, and was obliged to go to France, where he chose the city of Lyons for his residence, in onler to be enabled to awaken, with more facility, the old hatred of the duke of Normandy to his brother, and to excite him to make a second descent on the shores of Great Britain. In consequence of his intrigues, the wur broke out with more fury than ever between Henry and Robert ; and, as the king feared least a single defeat might hurl him from his throne, he decided to send an embassador to Italy, with large sums of money, in order to enter into an ar- rangement with the court of Rome. The prince then promised Pascal to discharge the churches of England from the rent which William the Red had imposed on them ; he pledged himself to receive no pay for investi- tures; not to exact taxes from the curates, and to levy Peter's pence regularly. Anselm, also, received permission to return to his dio- cese of Canterbury ; he recovered all his bene- fices, and was declared legate a latere to the Holy See. In this capacity he received, in the presence of the grandees and bishops of the kingdom, a decree of Henry's, in which it was said, that for the future, no one in Eng- land should receive an investiture of a bi- shopric or abbey, by the cross or the ring, in the name of a lord or of the king himself. On his side, Anselm declared that he would not refuse consecration to any prelates who should do homage to their sovereign. Finally, they were occupied with providing ecclesias- tics for the churches of England, almost all of which had been without pastors for several years. Thus, an end was put in England to the quarrel of the investitures. But in Germany the war broke out fiercer than ever. Towards the end of the year ] 102 the pope had convened a council, at which were assembled the deputies of Italy, France and Bavaria; the emperor of Germany alone failed in the appeal which was made to him, to renew his submission to the Holy See. His absence was regarded as an irremissible crime, and the fathers decreed this formula of an oath against schismatics, or rather against the partizans of that prince. •' We anathema- tize every heresy, and especially that which now troubles Christendom, and which teaches that we may despise the anathemas and cen- sures of the court of Rome. We promise un- limited obedience to the pontiff Pascal and his successors, in the presence of Jesus Christ and the apostle ; accepting, without examina- tion, all that the church affirms, and condemn- ing what it condemns; promising to sacrifice in its defence riches, friends, parents, and even our life, if it is required of us." They renewed the excommunication pronounced against Hen- ry the Fourth by Gregory the Seventh and his successor Urban the Second. Pope Pas- cal himself mounted the puipit of the church of the Lateran on Holy Thursday, the 3d of April, the same year, and in the presence of an innumerable crowd of the faithful, read the sentence, employing strange imprecations in order to impress terror on the coarse men of that period, who only judged of the value of things by their appearance. In this same assembly, the countess Ma- tilda accused the king of Germany of having stolen, by his agents, the act of donation by which she had made the Holy See the in- heritor of all her property. This implacable woman, after eighteen years hatl flown by in strife and battle, still wished to avenge Gre- gory the Seventh, her lover, on Henry, whom she accused of his death. She made a so- lemn declaration, in which, disinheriting her family for ever, she made the Holy See the sole legatee of her immense domains. We translate this singular act, in which the countess glories in her title of concubine : •'• In the time of the illustrious pontiff' Gregory the Seventh, our most beloved and most dear, and of whom we w^ere the greatest joy. I gave to the church of St. Peter all my goods, which I then had or might acquire ; and I wrote with my own hand, in the chapel of the Holy Cross, in the palace of the Lateran. a writing which constituted this donation. Since then, this deed has been destroyed by the enemies of the Holy See and mine. Thus, fearing lest my wishes should be called in question after my death, I now declare, with the formalities usual in such cases, that I abandon all my property to the Roman church, without I or my heirs being ever able to claim it against my present will, under the penalty of a fine of four thousand pounds weight of gold, and ten thousand of silver." Whilst the pontiff" was triumphing in Italy and England, he also subjected France to his authority; and he sent the bishop of Albano as legate to the court of King Phillip, to ab- solve that prince and the infamous Bertrade from the excommunication they had incurred from the council of Clermont during the reign of Urban. Ives of Chartres has left us the following relation of this ceremony, which he wrote to Rome: '-'We inform your paternity, that the prelates of the provinces of Sens and Rheims, convoked by Richard, your legate, assembled in the diocese of Orleans, in a city called Baregenci, to relieve King Phillip and Ber- trade, his wife, from the anathema pronounced against them. The two guilty ones presented themselves in the assembly with naked feet, and covered with sackcloth, weeping and crying for mercy, and swearing they would renonnce their nuptial intimacies, and even speaking together, if your legate placed this condition on their absolution. They xhon placed their hands on the Gospels and swoie never to fall into the sin of fornication with each other, and the anathema was raised. "I ought also, most holy father, to inform you of an accusation brought against me in the council of Baregenci, and of which I am to justify myself. It is false that I have ever been guilty of simony. This crime is. in my eyes, one of the most hideous sores of the clerg}' ; and since I have been a bishop. I have pursued it. as far as was possible for me 392 HISTORY OF THE POPES. lo do through the whole extent of my jurisdic- tion. I ought, however, to inform you, that not- withstanding my recommendations, the dean, chorister, and other officers of the canons of Chartres, receive money from clergy and laity ; they maintain that it is their right, and that they follow the usages of the Roman church, in which your chamberlains and the minis- ters of your palace receive rich presents from bishops and abbots, at the time of their con- secration, under the name of ofTerings and benedictions. They maintain that the court of Rome gives nothing gratis, and is even paid for pens and paper. To tliis I could only oppose to them the words of the evangelist, 'Do as the pope commands and not as he does.' " Pascal, whose policy was characterized by the perlidy of that of Urban and the violence of that of Gregory, seconded Matilda's schemes of vengeance, and sent prelates into Germany and Saxony, to publish the anathema against Henry the Fourth, and to excite the young Henry to revolt against his father, after the example of his brother Conrad. The legates at hist stirred the people by furious preaching; they represented the king as a renegade who had refused to take part with the faithftd in the glorious enterprise of the crusades ; they accused him of having ex- cited bloody .schisms since his advent to the throne, and of having desolated the church by persecutions worthy of the age of Diocletian. By way of contrast they exalted the merits and piety of his son ; they spread gold pro- fusely about, and when the young Henry, at their instigation, raised the standard of revolt, a formidable party rallied around him to com- bat the king of Germany. After this. Gebe- hard, the legate of the Holy See, the soul of all these intrigues, being desirous of increas- ing the pontilical influence by the splendour of an external ceremony, convoked all the grandees and clergy in a church. On the ap- pointed day, in the presence of an immense crowd, he conducted the young Henry to the altar of Chiist, gave him in the name of the pope, power to combat against his father, to dethrone him and put him to death by torture. After this ceremony Henry entered Saxony at the head of the nobility of Bavaria, Snabia, the upper Palatinate and Franconia ; he was received with transports of joy by the Saxons, who were worn ont by the tyranny of the father. But the young chief, concealing under an apparent modesty, the ambition which de- voured him, declared that he had not taken up arms from a desire of reigning, antl would not submit that his lord andfalher should be deposed. •• On the contrary." added he, "as .soon as the king shall have determined to obey St. Peter and his successors, we shall immediately lay aside the sword, in order to submit to our father, as the humblest of his subjects; but if he persist in his disobedience to the orders of the vicar of Jesus Christ, as we devote ourselves to God before all things, we will put him to death with our own hand, if it be necessary, in defence of religion, as the pontiff Pascal has ordered us." The king of Germany finding himself almost abandoned by his troops, dared not march against the rebels, and retired to his northern provinces. He then determined, in order to put an end to all pretexts for revolt, to replace the Teutonic kingdom under the authority of the Holy See, and to make his submission to the pope. For this purpose, an embassador was despatched to Rome with the following letter : " The pontiffs Nicholas and Alexander honoured me by their friendship, always treating me as a son ; but their successors, animated by a fury whose cause is inexplica- ble to me, excited our people and even our son Conrad against us ; it is still the same, our only remaining child is infected by the same poison ; he has raised himself against us in contempt of his oaths, urged on by knaves who seek to increase their wealth by injury to our crown. Several of our wi,se councillors have exhorted us to pursue him without delay by arms; but we have preferred to suspend the effects of our wrath, so that no one in Italy or Germany may impute to us the evils of such a war. Besides, we are assured that your legates themselves excited our sub- jects to rebellion, by accusing us of troubling the peace of the church. We, therefore, send to you one of our faithful fi lends to learn your intentions, and to know if you desire our al- liance without prejudice to our rights, such as our ancestors exercised, and you preserving your apostolic dignity as your predecessors preserved it. Finally, if you wish to act pa- ternally to us, send us some one in your con- fidence, carrying your secret letters, and who will inform us of your wishes; then we will send you embassadors who will finish this great matter with you." All these tokens of submission were use- less ; Pascal continued his dark schemes ; he even purchased the treason of the officers who surrounded Henry the Fourth, and the old king of Germany was given up to his son at the castle of Bighen. In vain he cast himself at the feet of the bishop of Albano, the legate of the Holy See, imploring absolution from the censures of the church, he was despoiled of the ensigns of royalty and forced to abdicate the throne in favour of his son Henry the Fifth. He was then sent in chains to Ingel- heim, Avhere he was subjected to the most cruel treatment. These barbarities excited general indigna- tion ; the lords, as well as the people of the cities this side the Rhine, declared in his favour and refused to recognize Henry the Fifth. One of the other side, Henry of Lim- burg, who possessed the Dutchy of Lower Brittany, havrng been secretly informed that the court of Rome intended to strangle the old king, hastened to inform him of it. By the interference of this generous friend, the emperor was enabled to escape secretly from Ingelheim, where he was strictly guarded, and he descended the Rhine as far as the city of Cologne, from whence he went to Liege. From that place he addressed messages to all the princes of Christendom, and in particular HISTORY OF THE POPES. 393 to the king of France, imploring their assist- ance in the general interest of sovereigns, whose majesty the popes had violated in his person. But the indignant Pascal, furious at the escape of the emperor, and at the manifesto which he had lanched in all courts against the Holy See, also wrote to the bishops, lords and princes of France, Germany, Bavaria, Suabia and Saxony, and to the clergy of Liege : " Pur- sue every where, and with all your strength, Henry the chief of the heretics,"' he said to them ; '■'■ exterminate that infamous king ! you will never be able to offer a sacrifice more agreeable to God than the life of that enemy of Christ, who would snatch their supreme power from the popes. We order you and your vassals to put him to death in the most cruel tortures, and if you faithfully execute our will, we grant to you remission of your sins, and an arrival after death at the heavenly Jerusalem." This sanguinary order disgusted even the ecclesiastics themselves, and the bishop of Liege addressed this reply to the Holy See : " VVe have searched in vain through ail the texts of the Holy Scriptures, and of the fathers, and have found no example of a command such as you send us. We learn on the con- trary from the sacred books, that popes can- not bind or loose any one without examina- tion ; from whence then comes this new law, which condemns a Christian to expiate in tor- tures an error of which he has not been con- victed ? from whence has the Holy See power to command a murder as a meritorious act, whose sanctity will efface not only crimes which are passed, but even bestow in advance absolution for incests, robberies, and assassi- nations ? Command such crimes to the in- famous hired assassins of Rome, we refuse you obedience. "Did there formerly exist in ancient Babylon, a more horrible confusion than that monstrous mixture of barbarity, pride, idolatry and im- purity which now reigns in the holy city ? Alas ! the words of the apostle are already realized; a frightful vision, coming from a horrible land, strikes my mind ; I see an im- petuous whirlwind rising in Rome which over- whelms the world, and in which the prince of darkness acts with his infernal cohorts. . ." Notwithstanding the firmness of the bishop of Liege, the unfortunate king of Germany could not escape pontifical vengeance : he died, poisoned by the agents of the Holy See, whilst his son was besieging tlie city. The inhabitants of Liege having no longer the em- peror to defend, and fearing the horrors of a siege, sent deputies to the camp of Henry to announce to him the death of his father and make their submission. This monster dared to demand that the dead body should be de- livered up to the executioner to undergo the frightful tortures ordained in the sentence passed by the pontiff; after having committed this horrid sacrilege, he ordered that the shreds of the dead body should be deposited in a stone sepulchre, which remained for i\\(i Vol. L 2 Z centuries before the porch of the cathedral, with this inscription: "Here lies the enemy of Rome." At this period, bands of pillagers traversed the provinces of Gaul, sometimes under the leading of ruined lords, sometimes under the orders of plebeian adventureis. and frequently even under the command of debauched monks who had been driven from their monasteries. It is related that the famous Robert d'Abrissel commanded one of these troops, when, struck by an inspiration from heaven, he resolved to quit this life of crime, and retire to a pious retreat with the men and women of his band, in order to labour with their own hands. He impressed his sentiments on all his followers, and went to the extremity of the diocese of Poictiers, two leagues from Cande inTouraine, near to an uncultivated ravine, covered with rocks called Fontebrault. They first built cabins and a chapel ; they then cleared the land, and when the young colony increased, Robert separated the men from the women, destining the one for prayer, the other for labour in the fields. He, however, permitted them to maintain intimate relations every Sunday. Such was the origin of the cele- brated abbey of Fontebrault. Pascal con- firmed the foundation of this establishment as well as the rule which permitted this mul- titutle of men and women to live hi the same enclosure. At the beginning of this year (1106) the holy father resolved to travel over Italy, France and Germany, in order to consolidate his sway over these three kingdoms. He went first to Florence where he convened a council for the purpose of assuming to himself the right of rule over that church; but the bishop of that city destroyed his hopes by maintaining in the assembly in the presence of the pope, and of a crowd of priests and laymen, that antichrist was born, and that he wished to seize on the throne of the church. This opinion, from the application which was made of it to the pope, created so great a tumult, that they could neither decide the question nor terminate the council, and Pascal was obliged to escape from Florence to avoid being stoned by the people'. The holy father then directed his efforts upon Lombardy, and held a general synod at Guastalla ; at this it was decreed that the whole province of Emi- lia, with the cities of Parma, INIodena, Pla- cenza, Reggio ^nd Bologna, should no longer be submitted to the metropolitan of Ravenna, who only retained Flaminia. Pascal thus wished to diminish the influ- ence of the archbishopric of Ravenna, whose titularies, for two hundred years, had con- stantly exhibited hostility to the Roman church. The council renewed the censures pronounced against laymen who pretended to have the right of investiture of ecclesiastical benefices. The deputies of King Henry the Fifth, then swore filial fidelity and obedience to the pope in the name of their master, and demanded that his holiness should authentically confirm the dignity of emperor. 394 HISTORY OF THE POPES. The pontiff went from Guastalla to Parma, where he conseciated the cathedral of that city, in compliance with an invitation from the citizens, in honour of the Virgin. When the ceremony was finished, he declared the new church to be a dependency of the Holy See, and sold it to Cardinal Bernard, a cruel and sodomite priest, w'ho was execrated through- out all Italy. Finally, Pascal started for Ba- varia, where he was to wait for the festivals of Christmas; but having been informed on his journey that the people were not disposed to confirm the decrees against the investitures, and that the emperor was not as docile as he had appeared, he suddenly changed his de- termination and went towards France, con- tenting himself with simply informing Henry by letter of his new plan, and telling him that he was going into France, because the door of Germany was not yet open to him. The holy father having arrived at the mo- nastery of Cluny, with a numerous suite of bishops, cardinals and Roman lords, found the Count de Rochfort, the seneschal of the king of France, who had been sent as his gTiide through the kingdom. After having visited the convents of la charite afnd St. Martin of Tours, Pascal went to St. Denis, where he was received with great honours by the abbot Adam, who then ruled' that abbey. He en- tered it, clothed in his pontifical ornaments, with his tiara on his head, in the midst of the cardinals wearing their violet coloured capes, and his bishops bearing the cross and mitre. The most extraordinary part, says the abbot Suger, who was present at that ceremony, was, " that the pontiff, whose sordid avarice was well known to all the clerg}', carried off nei- ther the gold nor the silver, nor the precious stones of this monastery as the monks feared ; he scarcely deigned to regard all this wealth, and prostrated himself humbly before the precious relics of the saint. He then lifted up his face bathed in tears, and asked the good monks, with the tones of a suppliant, if they would give a part of the garments tinged with the blood of the blessed martyr] "Do not refuse," said he, " to give us some little of the episcopal ornaments of him whom our apostolic See so ifberally sent to you for an apostle." Philip and his son came the next day to visit the pope and kissed his feet. Pascal raised them up and conferred familiarly with them on the affairs of the church, beseeching ihem pathetically to protect it as Pepin and Charlemagne had done, and courageously to resist the enemies of the Holy See, and par- ticularly the king of Germany. The two princes swore a boundless submission to the pontiff, and as he expressed fears in relation to the conference which he was about to have with the embassadors of Henry at Chalons- sur-Marne, they promised to place at his dis- posal a numerous escort which was capable of defending him against every enterprise. When the holy father arrived in the city of Chalons, he found the envoys of the king of German)', the bishops of Treves, Halberstadt and Munster. as well as several German counts and the terrible duke of GueJph. This lord went nowhere without an herald-at-arms car- rying his long sword before him. His height, imposing stature, even the formidable sound of his voice, every thing about him appeared to indicate that he had been sent to intimidate the pontiff rather than confer with him. The escort of the French was fortunately com- posed of redoubtable warriors : and thanks to their presence, the negotiations could com- mence unshackled. The archbishop of Treves, who understood the Roman language, spoke in the name of his master, and offered to sub- mit to the Roman See, saving the rights of the imperial crown, which consisted in bestovving a cross and ring on the pope chosen by the clergy and people, and whose nomination had been approved by the emperor. The bishop of Placenza rejected this pro- position, and replied in the name of the holy father, "The church, purchased by the pre- cious blood of Jesus Christ, has conquered its liberty by the martyrdom of the apostle Peter, and that of many of his successors. We will not permit it to fall back into servitude, which would happen if we could not appoint a chief without consulting the emperor. To wish to constrain it to such subjection, is to commit treason against the divinity ! I then pronounce an anathema on the prince who wishes to arrogate to himself the investiture of the sacred throne of the apostle ! and ma- lediction on the ecclesiastic who would re- ceive the cross and ring from a king whose hands are empurpled by the sword." The German embassadors understood from this reply that it was useless to continue the negotiations, and the duke of Guelph exclaim- ed with a thundering voice, " It is not here by vain discourse, but at Rome, by blows of the sword, that we must settle this quarrel." After these words they all retired, without even taking leave of the assembly. Pascal, although of an impetuous character, knew how to curb his anger ; and he even sent some of his most skilful counsellors to Adal- bert, the chancellor of Henry, to beseech him to listen quietly to the representations of the Holy See. But he could do nothing, as the embassadors were ordered to make no con- cessions opposed to the right of investiture claimed by the emperor. The conferences were then entirely broken off, and the depu- ties returned to the court of Germany. The holy father, who counted on the assistance of the king of France, seized eagerly upon the opportunity which was afforded of kindling a war in Germany; and following the example of his predecessors, he resolved to act against the son as they had done against the father. He went to Troyes in Champagne, w'here he held a council, in which the liberty of eccle- siastical elections was decreed, and the con- demnation of investitures confirmed. Henry, on his part, had foreseen the inten- tions of the pope, and his embassadors de- clared, in the presence of all the French clergy, that the emperor possessed the right HISTORY OF THE POPES, 395 of investiture since the times of Charlemagne, ^which Adrian the First had confirmed by an "authentic act, which they were ready to pro- duce to the assembly. As the pontiff was unwilling to submit to the tenor of this writing, he affirmed by oath that it was apocryphal, and ordered the fathers to pass it by. The Germans protested that their master would never ratify any determination made by judges 60 unjust as to refuse the verification of an authentic act, and threatened the pope with all the wrath of their sovereign. Pascal at last, intimidated by this energetic opposition, broke up the session, and granted the king a whole year to plead his cause at Rome before a general council. Henry was indignant at the Holy See; he, however, dissimulated his resentment, being occupied with subjugating Flanders, Poland, Hungary, and Bohemia ; but when tranquillity was restored to his kingdom, and he was freed from a redoubtable adversary, Philip being deael, and the king, Louis the Gross, who suc- ceeded him, having too many affairs of his own on hand to oppose his projects, he con- vened a general assembly of his estates at Ratisbon, and declared that he had resolved to go to Rome to receive the imperial crown from the hands of the pontiff, in accordance with the custom of his predecessors. He consequently ordered his princes, dukes, counts, all his nobility, even the bishops them- selves, to join him at his court with their richest equipages, to render his train more imposing, and to follow him into Italy. Pascal, informed of the hostile disposition of Henry, immediately went into Apulia, where he convened the Italian dukes, the prince of Capua, and the counts of these pro- vinces. He made them swear to aid him against the king of Germany; he then re- turned to Rome and made the grandees and people take the same oath. All these steps were useless; the emperor entered Lombardy at the head of a powerful army, and was crowned king of Italy by the archbishop of Milan. After the ceremony, Henry hastened to send embassadors to the Holy See to pro- pose an accommodation, or rather to gain time ; for his troops continued their march, ruining, on their passage, the cities which re- fused to recognize his authority. Finally, the embassadors of Henry and of the pontiff met on the 5th of February, 1111, on the porch of St. Peter, in the church of our Lady of the Tower, and made the basis of a treaty on the following propositions — On the day of his coronation the emperor was to renounce in writing all ecclesiastical investi- tures, and deposit the act in the hands of the holy father, in the presence of the clergy and the people; he was to encrage to leave all churches at liberty, as also their oblations and domains, which they did not receive directly from the crown ; he was to restore to the Holy See all the donations which had been made to it by Charlemagne, Louis le Debonaire, and the other emperors; he was to contribute neither by counsel, nor actions, to injure the pope in his pontificate, life, members, nor liber- ty. This last promise extended to the faithful servants who had guaranteed the execution of the treaty in the name of the Roman church. In addition, the emperor was to give as hostages his nephew Frederick, and twelve of the principal lords of Germany. On his side, Pascal engaged to restore to the king on the day of his coronation, the lands and domains which belonged to the em- pire in the times of Lewis, Henry, and his other predecessors; he promised to publish a bull which should prohibit all bishops, under pain of anathema, from usurping regalities, that is to say, cities, dutchies, marquisates, countships, jurisdictions, mints, marches, lands or castles, which were under the juris- diction of the throne. This treaty granted to Henry one of two things which he had demanded — the surrender of the great wealth which the priests pos- sessed in his states, in exchange for the right of investiture ; but foreseeing that the prelates would refuse to obey the pontiff, when he ordered them to give up their wealth, and that they would boldly maintain that no power could take from them the domains they pos- sessed, the prince made an extremely adroit determination in order not to be himself de- spoiled and to be beyond the reproaches which might be made if he were forced to retain the investitures. He ratified the treaty, adding, however, as an indispensable clause, that the exchange which he made of the right of in- vestiture for the royalties or property which the priests held from the crown, should be approved and solemnly confirmed by all the princes of the states of Germany. After these preliminaries he came to en- camp near Rome ; as soon as he was beneath the walls of the city, the pontiff sent to meet him, the principal officers of the palace of the Lateran, the magistrates, the schools, an hundred young nuns veiled, and carrying torches, and a multitude of children who cast flowers in his way. When Henry had en- tered Rome, all the ecclesiastics surrounded him, singing hymns in his praise, and con- ducted him in triumph to the church of St. Peter, where he found the pope, who awaited him on the porch. The prince pro.stiated himself before the pontiff and humbly kissed his feet ; they then entered the temple by the silver door amidst the loud acclamations of the people. Pascal saluted Henry as Emperor of the West, and the bishop of Lavici pronounced the first prayer of the consecration; when it was finished, and before continuing the cere- mony, the holy father demanded from the prince the oath, in writing, of his renunciation of the investitures; Henry replied, that he was ready to fulfil his promise, but that his conscience required he should first consult the German bishops, who had a great interest in the matter. He went in fact with his pre- lates into the sacristy to deliberate over the demands of the pope. The discussion was longand stormy : Pascal, impatient to know the 396 HISTORY OF THE POPES. result of their deliberations, sent to ask the emperor if he were willing to execute the convention which had been agreed upon. This step of the pope decided the question ] the bishops immediately rose from their seats protesting that they would never suffer them- selves to be despoiled of their goods, and went tumultuously towards the saloon of the wheel of porphyry, where the pope was seated, waiting for them. The pontiff endea- voured to calm them by addressing to them a long discourse to represent to them " that they should render to Cassar that which be- longed to him ; that he who devoted himself to God, should not be engaged in temporal affairs; and that, according to St. Ambrose, worldly priests were unworthy of the priest- hood." But they interrupted him quickly, saying to him. "Most holy father, we would enjoy the property of our bishoprics as you do the patrimony of the Holy See : and we would not permit the apostle himself to take from us the least part of our revenues." During the discussion, the duke of Guelph. overmastering all other voices, exclaimed to the holy father, " what is the end of your discourse, priest of Satan? We have nothing to do with your foolish conditions. We wish you to crown our emperor, as his predecessors have been by yours, without your making any innovations nor taking from him or our bishops what belongs to them." Henry then took the tone of a master, and said, "most holy father, it is our will that all these divisions should cease, and that you should finish at once the ceremony of our consecration." Pascal, humbled in his pride, replied, "the greater part of the day is past; the ceremony is long, and we shall not have time to crown you to day." The emperor, indignant at this obstinacy, caused the sanctu- ary to be surrounded by armed men, in order to reduce the pope to obedience. He mani- fested no fear, slowly mounted up to the altar of St. Peter and performed divine service, after which he wished to return to the palace of the Lateran. But the guards of the emperor presented- to him the points of their swords and interdicted his passage ; he then retraced his steps and seated himself in silence before the confessional of the apostle. Suddenly a loud noise was heard in the church ; the priests, who had mingled them- selves in the crowd, cried, " to arms ! to arms ! they wish the life of the pontiff," — and at their call, the faithful having assembled, charged the German troops furiously. These, obliged to defend themselves, drew their swords, struck without discrimination priests, women, and men, and drove all these fanatics out of the church. The emperor remained master of the field, and during the night he sent the pope to a fortress, the custody of which he confided to Altro, count of Milan. The cardinals of Tusculum and Ostia, who had made their escape during the tumult, traversed the streets, exciting the citizens to punish the infamous treatment of the emperor. All flew to arms, fell upon the Germans whom they met in the streets, and on the next day, at daybreak, all the companies of the Romans advanced in good order under the leading of^ their captains, passed the gates and attacked the imperialists with such impetuosity that they slew a great number and put the rest to flight. Henry himself was thrown to the ground, wounded in the face, and would cer- tainly have been massacred if Otho had not given him his horse and devoted himself to save him. The Romans seized the count, and, to punish him for his generous sacrifice, they cut him in pieces before the palace of the Lateran and made the dogs devour the bleed- ing morsels of his dead body. Henry regained his camp, where he found the prisoners whom he had sent in advance, under a good escort; the next day he ap- proached Rome and commenced the siege; his troops devastated the country, pillaged the convents and churches, burned the domains of the Holy See, and massacred the culti- vators. On his side, the bishop of Tusculum, to whom the defence of Rome was committed, did not remain inactive; he encouraged the people in their resistance, and his emissaries traversed Italy to engage its princes to come to the succour of the church : but all his ef- forts were useless. The emperor daily press- ed the place more actively; and the cardinals, as \^■ell as the other prelates who were pri- soners, finding themselves threatened with death or the mutilation of their members, if they refused to submit to the Avill of the prince and the German bishops, determined to con- firm the privilege of ecclesiastical investitures in the crown, and besought Pascal to giant to the emperor the rights which he claimed, since there remained to them no hope of suc- cour or of escape from captivity. Finall)-, overcome by their urgency and their tears, the pontiff" said to Herny that he was sub- missive to his will. "I will save my children," he added, "but I take God to witness, that I do for them, and the peace of the church, an act which I should have M-ished to shun at the price of my own blood." The treaty was drawn up which accorded the investitures to the king; and in the act the pontiff solemnly engaged never to pro- nounce an anathema against the king, and never to disturb him for the violences which his soldiers had used in the states of the church. It was, besides, specified, "That the rights of the throne should be confirmed by a privilege contained in a bull in proper form, and prohibiting clergy and laity from opposing their e.xercise under penalty of excommunica- tion ; still more, that the emperor should grant investitures, as in times past, by giving a cross and a ring to the bishops and abbots who should have been canonically elected without simony, and with his consent ; that metropolitans and even bishops should freely ordain prelates whom the king and his suc- cessors had invested with the privilege ; but that the claimant should not be consecrated except with the authority of his sovereign. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 397 It was finally agreed that the pope should crown Henry without delay, and would faith- fully aid him to preserve his states and em- pire. On his side, the prince engaged "to set the holy father at liberty, as well as all the bi- shops, cardinals, lords, and hostages who had been seized with him ; he promised to pre- serve peace with the Roman people ; to re- store immediately the patrimonies and do- mains of the church ; and to swear obedience to Pope Pascal, saving the rights and honour of the kingdom and the empire, as the Catho- lic emperors had done towards the chiefs of the Holy See." These conditions were signed by the pope and the prince, and solemnly confirmed upon the Gospels. Henry, however, who distrusted, with reason, the sincerity of the pontiff, was unwilling to surrender him, before the promulgation of the bull which bestowed on him the right of in- vestitures. In vain did the pontifi'make pro- testations of his good faith, ami afiirm that the seal of the Holy See remaining in the palace of the Lateran, he could not seal the diploma which the emperor claimed ; for at the very moment a secretary came to present to him the seal, which had been found in his cham- ber. The bull was drawn up, and the pope was obliged to sign it. The face of Pascal was pale from rage at seeing his knavery un- masked ; he however signed it. The follow- ing is its tenor : — " We grant and confirm to you the prerogative which our predecessors have granted to yours, to wit. that you should invest with the cross and a ring bishops and abbots of your kingdom, freely chosen and without simony ; and that no one can be con- secrated if he has not received the investiture by your authority ; and that because your an- cestors have given so much property of the crown to the churches, that prelates should contribute their first fruits to the defence of the state. The clergy or laity who shall dare to con- travene the present concession, shall be ana- thematized, and shall lose all their dignities." The emperor and pope then made their en- trance into Rome. They went to St. Peter's holding each other's hand, in the midst of a triple line of German soldiers, who kept all the avenues in order to prevent any effort at sedition. Pascal crowned Henry and solemn- ly performed divine service. After the con- secration, he took the host, broke it into two part.s, and turning to the emperor, said to him, *■ Prince, behold the body of Christ : I give it to you in consecration of the peace we have made, and of the concord which should reign between us. But as this part of the eucharist has beeti divided from the other, so let him who shall seek to break the union be separated from the kingdom of God." The mass being finished, the pontiff left the church with his cardinals, and went to the palace of the Lateran. On the following day Henry broke up his camp, and retook his way to Germany, full of confidence in the solemn oaths of the pope ; but he soon learned how knavish are priests, and how they sport with the holiest thing.?, and the most august ceremonies of religion. The cardinals who were at Rome during the captivity of Pascal, openly condemned the cession of the investitures which had been made to Henry, and refused to ratify it, de- claring it contrary to the laws of the church. Fra Paolo relates that they were excited to this resistance by the pontiff himself, who went to Terracina that they might be able to condemn his acts. In fact, during the absence of the pope, they assembled under the presidency of John, bishop of TuscuUim, and lanched a decree against the holy father and his bull. Pascal immediately addressed a letter to them, which he published, and in which he promised to annul that which was only done to avoid the ruin of Rome and of all the pro- vince. " I have failed in my aim, my fathers," wrote the hypocritical Pascal, -'but I am ready to do penance for my fault, and repair the evil I have done." Brunon, bishop of Segni, who presided over the council, replied to his letter in the name of the prelates: "My enemies publish, most holy father, that I have no afTection for you, and that my words accuse you; they calum- niate me, for I love you as my father and my lord ; but I ought to love him more who has immolated himself upon the cross to ransom us from death and hell. In his name I have declared to you, that we do not approve of the bull granted by your holiness to the emperor, because it is opposed to religion. Your avowal then filled us with joy, when we learned that you also condemn it. What priest could ap- prove of a decree which would destro)' the liberty of the church, close on the clergy the only door by which they could legitimately enter the priesthood, and open several secret issues to robbers 1 The apostles condemn those who obtain a See or order through the secular power, because laymen, how great soever may be their piety and their power, have no authority to dispose of churches; the constitutions which yon yourself before have made, condemn clerks who receive institution from the hand whieh bears the sword ; these decrees are sent out, and no one who opposes their execution is a Catholic. Confirm, then, your old ordinances, and proscribe the thought which would destroy them, for it is an infa- mous heresy. You will then see tranquillity restored to the church, and all ecclesiastics prostrate at your feet. In vain will you op- pose the .«anctity of the oath which you have taken. You should violate it if the interests of religion demand it ; and no one can condemn a pope who bn'aks his oath by order of God." Pascal then returned to Rome, and con- vened a synod to decide on the measures to be taken to break with the emperor. The as- sembly commenced its sessions in the church of the Lateran on the 28lh of March, 1112. Twelve metropolitans, one hundred and four bishops, and a great number of other ecclesi- astics, were present. The holy father first spoke and said : " I have sworn by the bishops and cardinals, that I would never more disturb 34 398 HISTORY OF THE POPES. the emperor on the subject of mvestitures, and that I would not pronounce an anathema against him. I wilJ keep this promise. But I declare the bull which I made from constraint, without the counsel of my brethren, and with- out their subscription, to be tainted with here- sy, and I ask this assembly to correct it, that neither the church nor my soul suffer any harm." Gerard, bishop of Aquitaiue, rising- then, read the following decretal : " We all, the fathers of this holy council, condemn by ecclesiastical authority, and the judgment of the Holy Spirit, the privilege which the vio- lence of King Henry wrested from the pontiff Pascal. We declare it null, and prohibit clergymen or laymen from conforming to it under penalty of e.KCommunication." AH re- plied : '-Amen, amen." The pope then rose, laid aside his tiara and cape, declared himself unworthy of the pon- tificate, and besought the council to depose him, inflicting the most severe penance, for having faltered before the sword of a king. The assembly refused to condemn the holy father, and cast all the blame on Henry, who was declared the enemy of God and the church, and a heretic, like Itis father. They finally pronounced an anathema on him and his partizans. Pascal wrote immediately to Guy, the me- tropolitan of Vienne, and legate of the Holy See, to inform him of the decisions of the synod, and to exhort him to put them in exe- cution. ''Remain firm," added he: ''resist the cajolements and threats of the excommu- cated emperor ; publish our sentence through- out Germany, being careful to avoid throwing the blame on me, lest I be accused of having betrayed the oath sworn upon the host and the Gospels. Declare to the faithful that the treaties made in the camp to which I was carried prisoner by means of the most odious tyranny, are null of right. . . ." Guy faithfully obeyed the instructions of the holy father, and fulminated a terrible ana- thenaa against the king of Germany. The Saxons revolted at his word, and the ambi- tious lords, using the excommunication as a pretence, refused to obey the emperor. The pope, however, desirous of preserving the ap- pearance of justice towards the prince, sent to him the following paternal advice : " The divine law and the holy canons prohibit priests from being engaged in secular matters, or from going to the court of princes, except when they are called to deliver the con- demned, or to obtain pardon for the unfortu- nate oppressed. Notwithstanding these pro- hibitions of the church, ministers of the altar have become in your kingdom the ministers of the throne. Bishops and abbots clothe themselves in armour, and march at the head of their armed bands to devastate the country, and pillage and massacre Christians. They hold from the state dutchies, marquisates, provinces, cities and castles. From this has arisen the deplorable custom of not consecrat- ing prelates until they have received an in- vestiture at the hands of the king. These dis- orders have been justly condemned by Popes Gregory the Seventh and Urban the Second; and we confirm the judgment of our predeces- sors, ordering that ecclesiastics shall render to you, our dear son, all the royal rights which formerly belonged to the empire during the reigns of Charles, Louis and Otho, your prede- cessors. The churches, with their oblations and domains, shall always remain free, as you promised God on the day of your coronation." Notwithstanding all the address of the pon- tiff not to declare himself in open hostility to the emperor, Henry had penetrated the secret intentions of the court of Rome, and deter- mined to pass over into Italy a second time. Whilst preparations were making for this ex- pedition, Pascal convened a council at Ceperan to judge the metropolitan of Beneventum, who had excited a sedition against the constable Landulph, whom the pope had sent to that city. At the opening of the synod the pope accused the archbishop of having seized on the regalia of St. Peter and the keys of the city of Beneventum; of having borne casque and buckler, and of having compelled the prefect Foulk to take an oath of obedience to the Normans, who had been introduced into the place. The prelate fiercely replied, that he had never received the regalia, but to pour the product into the treasury of St. Peter ; that he had never had the keys of Beneven- tum in his power, and that the officer who kept them was always faithful to the court of Rome; that finally, it was false that he had introduced the Normans into the city; and that if Foulk, as well as the people, had sworn fealty to them, it was of their own accord, and not by his orders. Pascal, exasperated at this reply, wished to have the archduke condemned of being guilty of high treason. In vain did Duke William, Count Robert. Peter de Leo, and a great num- ber of bishops who were at the council, im- plore the clemency of the holy father, not to dis- honour publicly the chief of the clergy of Be- neventum ; in vain did he himself offer, though innocent, to go as an exile from Italy. Pascal was inflexible, and declared that he wished the guilty man condemned with all the seve- rity of the canons. The fathers of the council, who all feared the wrath of the pontiff, were compelled to condemn the venerable prelate, and though they had recognized his innocence, pronounced sentence of deposition against him. The archbishop, indignant at such cow- ardice, rose from his seat, tore off his sacer- dotal garments, and having loaded the pope with imprecations left the council chamber. Some months after, Conon, bishop of Pa- lestrina and legate of the Roman church, con- vened a synod at Beauvais, at which Henry was excommunicated. This new bull was confirmed by a large number of German lords and bishops who had as,sembled at Cologne, under the presidency of Thierry, the cardinal legate. The king, irritated by this inconveni- ent manifestation, sent the bishop of Wirtzburg with orders to dissolve the coiuicil and pursue those who should refuse to leave Cologne at HISTORY OF THE POPES. 399 once as rebels. This mission resulted deplor- ably; the synod refused to receive the envoy of the excommunicated sovereign, and passed a decree which declared all those who re- mained in the service of the prmce excom- municated and anathematized. The embassa- dor left Cologne in alarm, and did not dare to appear again at court. The fear, however, of loosing his bishopric determined him to go to the prince, and he once more celebrated mass in his presence ; but on the next day he felt so much remorse that he fled from the capital. Henry, fearing the consequences of an ana- thema on the superstitious minds of his people, returned to Italy at the head of an army, with which he encamped in the environsof Pavia ; before, however, recommencing hostilities he wished to try the effect of negotiations, and sent the celebrated Peter, abbot of Cluny. as his deputy to the pope. Pascal convened his clergy in council in the palace of the Luteran, to reply to the embassador. At the opening of the session, the holy father thus spoke. '■ We have come, my brethren, through ihe greatest perils by land and sea, to treat of peace between the church and the throne. We declare at once in your presence, that it is to free the holy city from the pillage, in- cendiarism and massacres of the baibarous soldiers of the king of Germany, that we have signed a condemnable treaty; — we have com- mitted this fault, because the pontificate does not bestow the privilege of infallibility, and because a pope is made of dust as other men. It is on this account we beseech you to pray to God to pardon us for this action; and with you we anathematize that infamous bull, whose memory should be odious to all Chris- tians." The pope then renewed the decretal of Gregory the Seventh, which prohibited in- vestitures by princes under penalty of excom- munication. The agents of Henry seeing that the synod shunned even raising the question of agree- ment between the prince and the pope, sought to excite a popular movement against Pascal, and availed themselves of the death of Peter the prefect of Rome, to declare his son his successor in this important office. This young man, who was .scarcely grown up, appeared to be easy to seduce, and they hoped that he would enter readily into a plan of revolt against the Holy See. In fact, on Holy Thurs- day, whilst the pope was saying the first prayer in the divine service, the leaders of the im- perial faction entered the church with the young prefect, and summoned Pascal to con- firm the nomination of the people ; the holy father did not reply, and continued the ser- vice. They then raised their voices and callingonGod as their witness, threatened the pontiff with an approaching revolution. On the next day, the seditious raised a mob and after having sworn not to lay aside thtnr arms until they were victorious, attacked the clergy during a solemn procession, at which the pope was assisting. Several cardinals were seriously wounded. Pascal himself was struck with blows of a club, and he would have been murdered on the spot, if he had not formally pledged himself to ratify the election of Peter during the following week. This promise did not entirely satisfy the prelect. He gave orders to raze the houses of the lords who had declared against him, and even threatened to invade the palace of theLateran if the pontiff did not proceed immediately to the ceremony of his installation. Pascal, fearful that he could not resist the mob, judged it prudent to quit Rome, and he fled to Aibano. His absence did not, how- ever, suspend the civil war; they continued to fight furiously in the streets of the holy city ; all the partizans of the pope were driven out. Convents were pillaged, churches burned, and the massacres did not cease in the country until the time of harvest. When Henry learn- ed the success of his measures, he sent rich presents to the new prefect and the chiei's of his faction, informing them that he would come to Rome to recompense them for their zeal, as soon as he had completed the con- quest of the estates of the countess Matilda, who was about to die. In fact he soon ad- vanced towards the holy city at the head of a numerous army, forcing on his way all the small places and castles which held out for the pope. On entering into Rome, the king of Ger- many was received in triumph by the prefect and Roman barons; he went 1o St. Peter-s, and demanded the crown fiom the eccle- siastics, protesting that he had no other de- sire than to receive it at the hands of the pontiff, whose absence he regarded as a mis- fortune, since it deprived him of his blessing. He then received the imperial crown before the tomb of the apostle, from the hands of Maurice Bourdin, the metropohtan of Brag-a, who had been sent to his court some months previously in the capacity of legate, and re- gulated the principal political affairs with the senate and prefect, after which he repaired to Tuscany, in order to avoid the excessive heat, promising, however, to return at the end of the season, and leaving in Rome, fiom wise precaution, a large body of German troops. A few days after the departure of Henry, the Normans, at the instigation of the holy father, made an attack on the city. This first expedition failed completely. Pascal, how- ever did not lose his courage ; on the contrary, anger doubled his energy ; he made a second effort, entered Rome by tlie aid of a dark night, and on the next day his enemies were so frightened by his boldness that they submitted to him. The pope drove the Germans from the city anil was at once engaged in construct- ing machines to besiege the fortresses to which they had retired. At the termination of all these troubles Pascal fell seriously ill, and finding that his end was approaching, he convened the cardi- nals and bishops in the palace of the Lateran, and exhorted them to bid defiance to the fac- tions of the emperor in the election of the new pope. He died during the same night, on the 18th of January, 1118. His body, embalmed 400 HISTORY OF THE POPES. and clothed in the pontifical ornaments, was borne, according to the usual ceremony, by the cardinals to St. John's of the Lateran, and de- Pascal was of a perfidious, vindictive, and implacable character; his avarice was ex- treme, and he would beyond doubt have sold posited in a sepulchre of marble admirably to Henry the right of investitures, if that made. I prince had been rich enough to pay for it. GELASUS THE SECOND, THE ONE HUNDKED AND SIXTY- SIXTH POPE. [A. D. 1118.] History of Gclasiis before his pontificate — His election — He is maltreated by Cencius — The fac- tion of the Frangipani makes him a prisoner — He is delivered by the prefect — He is enthroned — He escapes from Rome at the approach of the emperor — Election of the Anti-Pope, Gregory the Eis-hth. Gelasus was of Gaeta, and of noble parents, who consecrated him from his infancy to the study of the Holy Scriptures. Orderisus, ab- bot of Monte Cassino, being informed of the progress which the young clerk was making in the sciences, took him to his monastery, where he soon distinguished himself by his aptitude and skill. He was still very young when Pope Urban ordained him a cardinal deacon, and soon after made him chancellor, charging him to restore to the works emana- ting from the Holy See, the elegance of style Avhich had been lost in the church since the seventh century. John of Gaeta, had shown great affection for Pascal; aiding to support him in all his afHic- tions and seconding him with indefatigable zeal in his plans of conquest over empires. The Jesuit Maimbourg says he was a man of holy life, of consummate prudence and skill, and the most learned of the sacred college. The Holy See remained vacant for twelve days after the death of Pascal, whilst his fune- ral rites were celebrating; then Peter of Porto, who had for a long time occupied the first rank in the church, convened the cardinals, bishops aiid principal clergy in the pontifical palace, to proceed to a new election ; in this caucus they agreed to choose Gaetan pope. The father in consequence, wrote to him, he having retired to Monte Cassino after the death of Pascal, to beseech him to return among them to aid them with his wise coun- cils. John mounted his mule and quitted the convent, ignorant of the decision to which the sacred college had already come. On his ar- rival in Rome, they re-assembled in a monas- tery of the Benedictines, called the Palladium, where Gaetan was proclaimed sovereign pon- tiff by the name of Gelasus the Second, and enthroned notwithstanding his resistance. Although this election was made with the greatest secrecy, Cencius, the head of the family of the Frangipani, was informed of what was taking place in the convent of the Benedictines. He immediately sallied in fury from his palace, followed by a band of armed men, broke open the gates of the monastery, and penetrated forcibly into the church in which they were celebrating the ceremony of adoration. He cast himself, like a madman, on the new pope, struck him with his gaunt- lets, threw him down on the steps of the altar, tore his face with his spurs, and dragged him by the hair to the threshold of the door; he then caused him to be bound and borne by his soldiers to one of the dungeons of his palace. A great number of bishops, cardi- nals, and even laymen, who assisted at the election, were also arrested by the satellites of Cencius. This scene of violence e.vasperated the popu- lace— they assembled in arms — the prefect, Peter de Leon, placed himself at their head, hastened to the capitol, and sent a deputation to the Frangipani to demand the liberty of Gelasus, threatening to sack the palace of Cencius if he refused to give up the pontiff. He, alarmed by the menaces of the clergy, went himself to open the dungeon of the pope, and set him at liberty. Gelasus was immedi- ately placed on a white horse, and conducted in triumph through the streets to St. John of the Lateran, preceded and followed by ban- ners, in accordance with the usage followed at the ceremony of the coronation. On the Following day he gave audience to the counts, barons, and ecclesiastics who had business to transact with the Holy See. These troubles at last appeared to be settled, when on the following night some priests hastened to the palace of the Lateran to warn Gelasus, that the Emperor Henry, whom they thought in Lombardy, was about entering the church of St. Peter at the head of armed men. At the same time they produced a letter from him which contained only these words: "If you confirm the bull published by Pascal, in favour of the investitures, w^e will recognize you as pontiff, and will take an oath of fidelity to you; if not, another pope shall be chosen, and we will put him in possession of the apos- tolic throne.'"' Gelasus who wished to pursue the policy of his predecessors, refused to yield to the wishes of the prince, and resolved to fly from HISTORY OF THE POPES 401 Rome ; he embarked on the Tiber, and reached Porto, where he was obliged to stop on ac- count of the bad weatlier, which prevented ships from putting to sea. The holy father there underwent new dangers, finding himself in the alternative of having his vessel upset or run ashore before the city, from which the troops of Henry hurled poisoned darts at the people of his train. At last the tempest having calmed with the setting of the sun, the galleys ran, under cover of the night, into a covered place, in front of the castle of St. Paul of Ardea. Gelasus could go no further on ac- count of his age and infirmities, and especially the fatigue which he had undergone. The cardinal Hugh d'Alatri, who was very strong, then took him on his shoulders and carried him to the castle. On the following night they disembarked, and two days afterwards arrived at Gaeta, the country of the pontiff. As soon as the news of the arrival of Gela- sus had spread through the province, a great number of bishops came to him : the emperor also sent embassadors to him to beseech him to return to Rome to be consecrated, and who assured him that their master was very desi- rous of assisting at that ceremony, and would authorize it by his presence: they added that a single conference would infallibly re-esta- bhsh concord between the altar and the throne. But Gelasus who had been already imprisoned ■with Pascal by Henry, was unwilling to expose himself a second time to the word of a king 3 he replied to the deputies, that he must above every thing else be consecrated pontiff, and that then the king of Germany would find him ready to treat with him wherever he pleased. As he was but a deacon, he was, on the fol- lowing day, ordained a priest and bishop, in the presence of William, duke of Apulia, Robert, prince of Capua, and several other Italian lords who took the oath of obedience and fidelity to him. Henry, irritated by the obstinacy of Gelasus, then resolved to cause a new pope to be chosen, and selected JVIaurice Bourdin, arch- bishop of Braga, the same who had crowned him emperor during the preceding year. This ecclesiastic was, according to Maimbourg, a wretch who regarded neither laws nor religion, so that he could satisfy his daring ambition. He relates that Bernard, the metropolitan of Toledo, on his return from Rome, during the pontificate of Urban, had taken Bourdin from a monastery of Limousin to ordain him arch- deacon of his church; that he afterwards ob- tained the See of Coimbra, and finally the archbishopric of Braga. Maimburg adds, that in his measureless ambition, he had aspired to the po.ssession of the See of Toledo, to the detriment of his benefactor, and even went to Rome to confer with the pope on the subject; but that nothavingofferedenoughmoney to the pontifL his claim had been rejected, autl that this refusal was the cause of his hatred towards the Roman church, and his treasons in favour of King Henry, whom he followed in court and camp, where he led a very dissolute life. Baluze gives a very different account of the life of this bishop, which appears to us to be the most* authentic : "Bourdin," says this historian, '-'after liis installation on the See of Coimbra, undertook the holy pilgrimage to Jerusalem, towards the year llOS. He stopped at Constantinople, where he was laden with honours by the emperor Ale.vis, and formed relations of friendship with several grandees of the empire. He had .scarcely returned to Portugal, after an absence of three years, when he was chosen arcjibishop of Braga, to succeed St. Geraud who had died. This new appointment obliged him to go to Rome to have his translations approved, and to receive the pallium, which Pope Pascal granted to him in consideration of large presents. When Bourdin returned to his diocese, he found him- self exposed to the jealousy of Bernard, the metropolitan of Toledo, and legate of the Holy See ; he was even constrained to return to Italy to implore the protection of the pontiff against the vexations of the primate of Spain. During his sojourn at the court of Rome, ia pursuing this important affair, Pascal, recog- nizing his superior abilitie.s, appointed him his legate to treat of peace with the emperor Henry, who was in Lombardy: and it was in this capacity that he crownetl the prince after the flight of the pope. His condescension having been imputed to him as a crime, he was excommunicated in the council of Bene- ventum, which determined him to attach him- self to the person of the king, who cau.sed him to be chosen pontiff on the 14lh of March, 1118, by the name of Gregory the Eighth. GREGORY THE EIGHTH, ANTI-POPE. [A. D. 1118.] Letter of Gelnsns azainst the emperor Henry and Gres^ory the Eighth — The antt-fOfe is nizcd as the lawful pontiff in Germany and Emrland — Gelasus re-enters Borne — Blooi volt n when, most fortunately for them, he was at- tacked by a violent fever which retarded the j disasters of a new crusade. He died after a ! sickness of some days, on the 16th of Decem- j ber, 1187, having filled the Holy See for two I months. CLEMENT THE THIRD, THE ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY- NINTH POPE. [A. D. 1188.] Election of Clement — Treaty between the pope and the Romans — Clement pursues the plans of his predecessors in regard to the Holy Land — Fanaticism of the Croises oj France, England, and Germany — Rules for the new crusade — Saladin^s dime — Termination of the Scottish schism — Privilege granted to the kin^ of Scotland — Quarrel between the pope and the king of France — Death of Clement the Third. Paul, or Paulinus, cardinal bishop of Pales- trina, and a Roman by birth, was chosen to succeed Gregory the Eighth, by the name of Clement the Third. The ceremony of his consecration took place at Pisa, some days after the death of his predecessor. He was scarcely seated on the throne of St. Peter, when his first care w-as to put an end to the quarrel between the people of Rome and the Holy See. For this purpose, he sent deputies to the senate antl the prefect, to make arrange- ments in regard to the city of Tusculum, which was the chief cause of the discord, and of which the popes claimed possession, to the prejudice of the city. His embassadors dis- played great skill in the negotiation ; they showed to the Romans the loss they would sustain if the popes were obliged to choose another city for their residence ; they be- sought them not, themselves, to bring about the destruction of the ancient capital of the Christian world, by refusing to receive the pontiff as their father, and unconditionally. The Romans did not fall into the snare which was laid for them, knowing too well that the presence of the pontiff produced discords and disasters among them. They however replied, that, in order to obtain peace, they would receive Clement within their wall.s, f)rovided he would aid thom to repair the osses suffered in their wars with the Holy See on account of Tusculum. The pontiff, firiding it impossible to deceive the Roman.s, finally acceded to their just de- mands, and signed the treaty which was im- posed on him. All things being arranged on both sides, Clement made his dispositions to return to the pontifical city. Before, however, removing from Pisa, he did not lose sight of his project of a crusade ; he assembled the cili/ens in the great church, delivered a long exhortation to them to determine them to undertake the journey to the Holy Land, and even gave the standard of St. Peter to Hnbald, the metro- politan of that diocese, whh the title of legate ; after this he took the road to Rome, into which he made a triumphal entry. As soon as the holy father had regulated the administration of the church, he sent the cardinal Henry, bishop of Albano, with Wil- liam of Tyre, in the capacity of legates to France, to put an end to the quarrels between kings Henry and Philip, and to determine these two princes to unite their armies to march to the conquest of Jerusalem. This embassy was entirely successful. Henry and Philip were reconciled. They received the cross from the hands of the legates, and pledged themselves to go to Palestine. A great number of the lords of both nations following their example, took the cross. The French adopted a red cross, the English a green one. Whilst the metropolitan of Tyre was fanati- cising the people of France, the other legate, Henry of Albano, had separated from his col- league, and had gone to Germany for the same purpose. Thus, on the very day on which King Philip assembled his parliament at Paris to demantl subsidies for the succour of Jerusalem, Frederick held a solemn diet at Mayence, in order to publish the crusade. The emperor took the cross with his son Frederick, the duke of Suabia, and sixty-eight of the most powerful lords of his empire. The rendezvous for their departure was fixed at Ratisbon, on the day of the festival of St. George, in the following year; but in order to prevent the disorders which the movements of such large bodies of troops produced, by the conjunction of all the vagabonds who fol- low armies, under the name of sutlers, valets, and others, all who could not go to the ex- pense of three marks of silver were prohi- bited, underpenalty of excommunication, from joining the crusaders. Henry of England levied in his kingdom an e.vtraordinary impost of one tenth ol the reve- nues and moveables of all his subjects, ex- cepting only arms, horses, the dress of the officers, as well as the books, garments, and 454 HISTORY OF THE POPES benefices of ihe clergy. This impost, known by the name of Saladin's dime, was collected ill each parish by a monk, nominated by the bishop, and assisted by a sergeant of the king, and a templar or hospitaller. The king of England made, besiiies, tlifferent ordinances for the discipline of his army — pro.scribingdice and other games of chance, interdicting to his knights furs of ermine, martin, and sable, scarlet clothing, and ornamented dresses. He also prohibited the oificers from blaspheming, from having more than two kinds of meat served at table, and from introducing women into the camp, with the exception of some old and homely sutlers. He authorised the cru- saders who had before pledged their property, to exact from their creditors one year's reve- nues, without this new debt bearing interest during the expedition; finally, he permitted his subjects, even the ecclesiastics, to mort- gage their estates for three years, and re- served for those who died during the journey the right of disposing of the money which they carried with them, in favour of their do- mestics, or for the aid of the Holy Land. Philip Augustus levied a^so the Saladin dime in his kingdom, and made ordinances similar to those of king Henry. Whilst France, England, and Germany were thus preparing for a war in Palestine, the pope was engaged in extinguishing the schism which separated Scotland from the Holy See. For this purpose he wrote to king William and the clergy of that kingdom: "We inform you, my lord, that Hugh not having presented himself at the court of Rome, as he was or- dered by Urban the Third, we have declared him deprived of the bishopric of St. Andrew's, and have suspended him from all ecclesiasti- cal functions, freeing his vassals from the oath of fitlelily and obedience. We also order, in conformity with the holy canons, which pro- hibit churches from being left without pastors, that the chapter of St. Andrew shall imme- diately assemble to choose a worthy priest ; and we recommend to it bishop John, whose merit we -know. We exhort you, our dear son, to give your aid to this prelate. ..." William, after having taken cognizance of these letters, was reconciled to the bishop John ; he surrendered to him the see of Dun- keld, with its revenues, on comlition that he would renounce the diocese of St. Andrew in fa.vour of Hugh. This determination of the king smoothed all difficulties; John was in- stalled in his bishopric, and Hagh went to Rome to be reinstated in his see. He received absolution from the pope, and died on his re- turn. William, desiring to guarantee his kingdom for the future from the censures of English metropolitans, sent deputies to Italy, instruct- ed to negotiate with Clement for a bull which should declare the church of Scotland sub- ject to that of Rome, and independent of that of England. The brief rendered on this oc- casion terminated with the following clause : "From henceforth the church of Scotland shall be immediately freed from its depend- ency on the Holy See. and no pope, or legate 'a latere.' shall be permitted to lanch or publish, interdict or excommunication upoi; this kingdom. No one, for the future, shall be able to exercise the functions of a legate, unless he is a Scotchman, or taken from the body of the Roman church; and differences which shall break out in regard to benefices situated in Scotland, shall not be brought be- fore any foreign tribunal, except that of Rome, and by way of appeal." This dispute of the Scotch and English vvaa scarcely settled, when a terrible war broke out between Henry the Second and Philip, on account of the sister of the latter, whom Rich- ard, the son of the king of England, wished to espouse in despite of his father. At first the young prince placed himself at the head of a body of French troops and made war on his father, who, fearing the ambition of his son, obstinately refused to consent to this mar- riage. Philip then, finding the war protracted, took arms on the side of Richard ; and the two people, French and English, murdered each other for a quarrel of their tyrants. As all the money of the Saladin dime was swallowed up in these interminable disputes, the holy father, fearful of seeing his hopes of the cru- sades vanish, sent a new legate, John of Anagni, who obtained an agreement from the princes to meet at Ferte Bernard, to confer upon a mode of terminating the war. In this interview, Philip exhibited an in- conceivable pride ; he imperiously demanded the accompli-shment of the marriage arrested between his sister Alice and Richard, count of Poictiers ; demanding, besides, that the prince should do homage to him for his estates, and that his brother John should assume the cross. Henry of England offered to espouse Alice to the younger of his sons: but Philip rejected this proposal with insolence, and con- ducted himself in outrageous language; when the legate interposing between the two mo- narchs. threatened Philip to excommunicate him, and to place his kingdom under interdict, if he refused the conditions offered by the king of England. Philip then protested against the decree of the legate, maintaining that it did not pertain to the Roman church to censure a kingdom, when the prince was repressing his rebellious vassals, and avenging the injuries done his crown; and soon the war recommenced more furiously than ever. Henry the Second hav- ing died at Chinon soon after, his son Richard succeeded him and restored peace to the two nations. The two kings were then able to accomplish the vow they had made to conquer the Holy Land ; they embarked together towards the end of the year 1190, and sailed for Syria, where Frederick Barbarossa had already ar- rived at the head of one hundred and fifty thousand men. This unfortunate emperor was drowned in crossing the river Salef, orCydnus. Henry the Sixth, his son and successor, im- mediately quitted the army of the crusaders, and came to Italy, to receive the crown from HISTORY OF THE POPES. 455 the hands of the pope, and to claim at the same time the succession of William the Good, king of Sicily, who died without children. On his route, he learned that Clement the Third, attacked by a severe malady, had rendered his last siph on the 28th of March, 1191.— This pontiff. i,Mfted with great political skill, had re-established during his reign the supre- macy of the altar over the throne and had paved the way for his successors to rule all Europe. CELESTIN THE THIRD, THE ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTIETH POPE. [A. D. 1191.] Election of Celestin — His consecration is deferred — Coronation of the emperor Henry the Sixth — Exhumation of the dcwl body of Tancred — Frightful punishment of Count Jourdain — Return of King Philip to France — Troubles in England — Complaint against the bishop of Ely — The Norinans refuse to receive the legates of the pope — The king of England made prisoner bij the duke of Austria — New crusade — Quarrel between the courts of Rome and France — Death of the emperor — Sordid avarice of the pope and cardinals — Philip repudi- ates Ingcrburge — Death of Celestin. compact which united two implacable tyrants. Celestin sacrificing the unfortunate inhabitants of Tusculum to the interests of his ambition, destroyed their city to its foundation, and drove away its citizens. Henry, on his side, abandoned himself to all the in.^pirations of his ferocious character. He passed over in:o Apulia, to punish it for having named another as king of Sicily, to the prejudice of his pre- tended rights; he caused the dead body of Tancred, whom he regarded as an usurper, to be e.xhumed, and following the example of the infamous pontiff Stephen towards Formo- sus. he caused his head to be cut ofT by the executioner ! His revenge was not arrested by a sacrilege. The young William, the son of Tancred, was condemned to have his eyes burned out by a hot iron, and this unfortunate youth had his natural jjarts torn ofi' in his pre- sence. Finally, this monster, this unchained tiger, wishing to stifle the spirit of rebellion by frightening his enemies, invented an atro- cious punishment, which, until his time, no tyrant had yet conceived. A Count Jourdain, one of the Norman counts, took up amns to dispute with him a fief which belonged to his family: Henry having .seized him by trea- chery, condemned hmi. in derision, to die upon a burning throne. The count was bound by chains on a bed of heated iron, and crowned with a diadem of burning silver, which \\as fastened on his head ! ! ! Whilst the empiMor Henry was ravaging Calabria, Apulia, and Sicily, the kings of France and England were leading their ar- mies on the shores of Syria. These two princes, who before the death of Henry the Second appeared to be united in an indissolu- ble friendship, soon became im])Iacable ene- mies. This division was caused on the part of Philip by his opposition to the mas.«acre of the inhabitants of INIessina, whom the Eng- : lish army wished to put to the sword ; on the I part of Richard by his refu-sal to ratify his en- , gagement contracted with Alice, of France, Two days after the death of Clement, car- ' dinal Hyacinth was chosen sovereign pontiff. He was a Roman by birth, and was eighty-five years olil when he reached the papacy. He was enthroned by the name of Celestin the Third: but, before being ordained, the sa- cred college decided that a treaty of peace should be preliminarily made with Henry the Sixth, and that he should oblige the prince to make a composition with the Romans, for the restitution of Tusculum. Celestin having given his adhesion to this measure, a deputation was .sent to the king of Germany, to claim the restoration of Tuscu- lum and of the other fortresses near Rome, promising, tlial on this condition the pope would crown Henry emperor of Italy. The king consented to this arrangement, and the emba.ssadors returned with this reply : " You perceive, holy father, that I occupy your es- tates with my army ; I can ravage your faims, your vineyards, and your olive plantations; do not then put off my consecration ; since, instead of injuring you, I pledge myself to do honour to your city, obey your holiness, and pay you a tribute" Celestin replietl to the king, that he accept- ed his proposals of alliance, and immediately made prejiarations to proceed to his ordination, fixing on Easter Monday for the consecration of the emixM'orand the empress Constance, his wife. The following was the ceremony : — The holy father was seated on his throne, with the imperial crown deposited at his feet ; Henry approached the ai)o.stolic chair, and kneeled to receive the diadem ; the pope, without rising, placed it on the brows of the monarch ; he then knocked it off with his foot, wishing to figure by this action that the Holy See was the sole dispenser of thrones, and could at its pleasure make or unmake em- perors. Henry having bowed his head in sign of assent, the cardinals lifted up the crown and placed it anew upon his head. Thus was accomplished the sacrilegious 456 HISTORY OF THE POPES. and by his marriage with Berengaria, the daughter of the king of Navarre. On their arrival in the Holy Land, the princes no longer dissimnlated the feelings of hatred which actuated them, and their discord took the character of open hostility. Philip had declared for the marquis of Montserrat, and had recognised him as king of Jerusalem, to the detriment of Lusignan. Richard imme- diately took the part of Lusignan, against the king of France, and Leopold, duke or marquis of Austria, who, in the absence of the emperor of Germany had remained in command of his troops, and had joined Philip to avenge him- self for an insult of the English monarch. These divisions soon disorganized the Chris- tian army, and caused them to lose sight of the objects of the crusade. Phillip, attacked by a sickness which caused his nails and hair to fall off. was forced to aban- don his troops and return to Europe. He em- barketl for Otranto where he arrived on the 10th of October, 1191 ; from thence he went to Rome, where he was received with honour by Pope Celestin, who released him from his vow, bestowing on him the emblems of a pil- grim, the palm branch and the cross. The prince then took leave of the holy father and continued his route to Paris, where he arrived during the Christmas festivities. Soon after the departure of Philip, Duke Leopold followed his example, and returned to Germany. Richard alone remained in Syria, and performed prodigies of valour ; but his courage was only of assistance to his glory, for his absence caused him even to lose the kingdom of England, rent by the factions of the earl of Morlay and of Geoffrey, metropoli- tan of York. These two lords, availing them- selves of the absence of the king, formed a powerful party against William, bishop of Ely, chancellor of the kingdom and legate of the Holy See, and, in this capacity, invested with the supreme power. They constrained him to quit Great Britain and take refuge in Nor- mandy. His enemies even pushed their bold- ness so far as to send embassadors to the Holy See to complain of him, and to have their re- bellion sanctioned. Notwithstanding the ac- cusations brought against William, Celestin refused to condemn him ; he drove his de- tractors from Rome and sent this reply to the English prelates: " King Richard being absent on the service of God, we are compelled to take his kingdom under our protection. Having been apprised that John, earl of Morlay, and some other disturbers have risen against his authorit)', and have even driven from England our venerable brother, William, bishop of Ely, we order you to assemble and excommunicate all the guilty, to the sound of the bells and with lighted can- dles; we also interdict divine service in all the estates of these criminals, until they shall come to Rome to implore our pity." An express was also sent into the East to Richard, to inform him of the troubles which were desolating his kingdom. The prhice hastened to conclude a truce of three years with Saladin, and embarked on his return to Europe. Unfortunately he encountered a tempest in the Adriatic, and stranded on the shores of Venice. This misfortune, which re- tarded his arrival in his kingdom, detennined him to take the land route and traverse the provinces of the duke of Austria in the dis- guise of a trader. During his journey he was denounced by a priest and arrested by his enemy the duke, who kept him as a prisoner at Vienna, and then sent him to the emperor. Henry the Sixth. Richard finally obtained his liberty by paying a ransom of one hundred and fifty thousand marks of silver, and con- tinued on his journey. But his brother, John Lackland, assisted by the king of France, had already seized on the crown of England, and Richard of the Lion Heart was obliged to re- conquer his states. During the following year, died the Sultan of Egypt and Syria, the celebrated Saladin, whose sword had been so redoubtable to the Christians. This illustrious conquerer left several sons, heirs of his power, but not of his courage and talents. His death revived the ambition of the Holy See. Celestin then con- ceived the hope of reconquering the kingdom of Jerusalem, and caused a new crusade to be preached in France and Germany. Cardinal Gregory, the legate of the pope in Germany, convened a general diet at Worms, and spoke with so much eloquence in favour of the holy sepulchre, that a great number of prelates, lords, and magistrates determined to take the cross; the emperor himself wished to com- mand the expedition in person, and would have done it if wise counsels had not diverted him from it. Some time after, Henry at length received the chastisement due his crimes. He died, poisoned by his wife Constance and a lord of his court, the paramour of that princess. This tragical end excited no regret, so much hatred had this monster raised against himself by his cruelties and exactions. Celestin who had excommunicated him on account of the cap- tivity of Richard, prohibited his dead body from being interred ; and only departed from his severity, on condition that his successor should restore to the Holy See the one hun- dred and fifty thousand marks of silver which the king of England had paid. He had even the audacity to demand for the coronation of the son of Henry a thousand marks of silver for each of his cardinals, and moreover com- pelled the empress Constance to swear upon the consecrated host, that the young prince was really of the blood of the emperor, and not the fruit of her adulteries. At this same period, Philip Augustus es- poused Ingerburge, the daughter of Valdemar the First, and sister of Canute the Sixth, king of Denmark. All writers of the time agree in describing this princess to have been as beautiful as virtuous. According to Mezerai, she had a secret defect which rendered her unfit for marriage. Immediately, from the very first night of his marriage, Philip sepa- rated from her, and demanded from his HISTORY OF THE POPES. 457 bishops a sentence of separation. The judg- ment was pronounced by the metropolitan of Rheims, the legate of the pope, and by some prelates who were moved to join in the di- vorce, under a pretext of relationship in the sixth degree. This unfortunate princess was confined in the convent of Soissons, and her husband left her in such destitution, that she was reduced to sell her household vessels, and even her clothing for her subsistence. The king of Denmark complained to the Holy See against his son-in-law, and obtained an annulment of the sentence of separation. Ce- lestin even ordered the king to take Inger- burge back again, and to treat her as Queen of France : prohibiting him, under penalty of excommunication, from contractinga new alli- ance. Plxilip, without disquieting himself about the threats of the pontiff, married the daughter of the duke of Bohemia. Notwithstanding this opposition to his or- ders, Celestin did not lanch an anathema against the king, perhaps because he had abandoned the cause of the princess — perhaps t because, worn down by years and infirmities, he thought of nothing but dying. Towards the festival of Christmas (1197) he assembled the cardinals, and besought them to choose John of St. Paul, a cardinal priest of the order of St. Prisque, in whose favour he oflered to abdicate. But as all the cardinals coveted the apostolical chair for themselves, they refused to accede to the wishes of Celestin, under the pretext, that it was irregular, and contrary to the canons, for a jwntiff to lay down the tiara. Some days afterA\ards, on the 8th of January, 1198, the holy father died at the age of nine- ty-three years, having governed the church for six years and nine months. During the twelfth century, we have seen the popes arrogate to themselves the right of disposing of the imperial crown, and deposing princes. It was from this time that the power of the Holy See could be regarded as really constituted ) and it chiefly owed its new influ- ence to the organi;:ation of the college of car- dinals, which found itself charged with the election of the chiefs of the church. THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. INNOCENT THE THIRD, THE ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY- FIRST POPE. [A. D. 1198.J Reflections of the historian Mathciv Paris on the church in the thirteenth century — Cardinal Lo- thaire chosen pope by the name of Innocent the Third — His history before his election — Commencement of his pontificate — Treaty between the pope and the queen of Sicily — Innocent preaches a new crusade — He places France under interdict — Pretensions of the pope in regard to the elections of emperors of the tcest — Innocent erects himself into an arbiter of peace and war betu-een all powers — Foundation of the Latin empire of Constantinople and temporary reunion of the Greek and Latin churches — Coronation of the king of Arragon — Coronation of the emperor Otho — Massacre of the tinfortunatc Albigenses — St. Dominick orders the burn- ing of Bezicrs — The pope bestows England on the king of France — The king of England declares himself a vassal of the pope — Council of Lateran — Curious adventure of St. Francis of Assise — The English and French refuse to obey the pope — Death of Innocent the Third — Reflections on his character. A MONK of St. Alban's named Mathew Paris, who wrote the cotemporaneous history of the thirteenth century, thus speaks of the church: "The httle faith which still existed under the last popes, and wliich was but a spark of the divine fire, was extinguished during this century — all belief is ainiiliilated ; simony is no longer a crime ; usury is no lon- ger disgraceful, and greedy priests can devour without sin the substance of the people and the lords. Evangelical c^iarity has now taken its flight towards the heavens; ecclesiastical liberty has disappeared, religion is dead, and the holy city has become an infamous prosti- tute, whose shamclessness surpasses that of Sodom and Gomorrah. Every country is abandoned to the rapacity of monks in rags, ignorant and unlettered, who fall nix)n the Vol. I. 3 H provinces armed with Roman bulls, and with effrontery adjudge to themselves all the reve- nues granted by our ancestors for the subsist- ence of the poor and the exercise of hospitality. Those who resist this dilapidation of the public money, or who refuse a part of their demand to the envoys of the pope, are im- mediately stricken with the thunders of ana- thema. ''Thus the pontifl"3 not only e.xercise an odi- ous tyranny, which is still the more insup- portable, as their agents, like true harpies ■ armed with iron talons, not oidy snatch even the last rags which cover the fa'ilhful to main- tain the luxury of the court of Rome, but even overthrow the traditions of the first ages of the church, and drive away from the domains iof St. Peter the citizens who directed them to 39 458 HISTORY OF THE POPES. replace them with wretches, called Roman farmers, who leave the work, of the fields to pillage the inhabitants of the provinces, and who, in hopes of meriting the good graces of the holy father, send to Rome the spoils of the unfortunate. Thus do we deplore such scan- dals, and say, in the grief of our soul, that we would rather die than assist at this sight of horror and abomination." As soon as the burial honours were rendered to pope Celestin the Third, the cardinals se- cretly assembled in a place called Septa Solis, in order to confer with more freedom upon the election of a newpontilT; they first assist- ed at the mass of the Holy Spirit; they then saluted one another and gave to each the kiss of peace. After this, they proceeded to an election and named the tellers. On the fiist ballot, the votes were proclaimed, in a loud voice, and it was ascertained that a majority of the votes were given to the cardinal Lo- thaire who was but thirty-seven years old. His age was discussed at length and, finally, they agreed to choose him chief of the church, and at the tenth ballot he had two thirds of the votes, and was proclaimed pope by the name of Innocent the Third. The elec- tion having been proclaimed, the clergy and people conducted him, with acclamations of praise, to the church of Constantine, and from thence to the palace of Lateran. Lothaire was the son of Trasimond, and, ac- cording to some authors, was descended from the counts of Segni. His childhood was pass- ed in Anagni, his native city, and it was only when he had attained the age of sixteen that his mother, named Clarina, a noble Roman dame, conducted him to the holy city and en- trusted him to skilful masters to finish his edu- cation. Having become a man, he went to Paris to hear the learned dissertations of the profes- sors of the University of that capital ; finally, he returned to Bologna to enter into orders. At length Lothaire was named canon of St. Peter's at Rome. Gregory the Eighth con- ferred on him the subdeaconate, and Clement the Third made him a cardinal deacon of the order of St. Sergius. As he was only a dea- con when he reached the papacy, they w^ere obliged to defer his consecration, in order to confer on him the other ecclesiastical degrees. After his consecration, he received the oath of fidelity and liege homage from Peter, pre- fect of Rome, who bestowed on him a mantle as the investiture of his charge, a right which belonged to the emperor. This proud begin- ning was followed by a series of political acts -which presaged his future plans for Italy. He visited, in person, the dutchy of Spoleto, Tus- cany, and the other provinces which were formerly dependent on the Holy See, in order to bring them back to his authority, affecting all the time not to be engaged in' temporal affairs, and repeating, unceasingly, that sen- tence of scripture — '•' Whoso toucheth pitch shall defile himself," he loudly declared him- self an enemy to the venality of offices, in order to render himself popular ; and even fixed the salary of the officers of his court. prohibiting them from exacting any thing from the faithful. He abolished the office of door-keeper of the chamber of the notaries, in order that the access to it should be free ; and caused to be taken away from the palace of the Lateran, as unworthy of pontifical ma- jesty, a counter, at which were sold, on account of the pope, vessels of plate, and where they trafficked in ornaments and false stones. He set in action the sittings of the public consistory, whose use was almost abolished. Three times a week he gave a solemn audience to all the faithful who had complaints to bring; and in the judgments he pronounced as supreme arbiter, he had no regard to the quality of persons nor their for- tunes, but only to the justice of their claims. As he anticipated, his reputation for im- partiality soon drew to his tribunal appeals in all important or celebrated cases; for it must be said, that this great ostentation of equity did not take its rise only in a love for justice, but flowed more particularly from an insati- able thirst for authority and despotism, as appeared in the case of Andreas, son of Belas the Third, king of Hungary, who was obliged to go to the Holy Land under penalty of excom- munication, and the loss of the inheritance of his father. It was with the same arrogance that he demanded the restitution of the prison- ers whom the emperor had made in the last war, and, in particular, that the metropolitan of Salerno should be set at liberty. His le- gates audaciously signified to the prince that they would grant him twenty-four hours to restore the captives, if he did not wish his whole kingdom to be placed under interdict; at the same time they sent to the prelates of Spires, Strasburg, and Worms different bulls, which ordered these bishops to aid the mea- sures of the Holy See, and to join themselves to the abbot of Sutri, and to St. Anastasius. abbot of the order of Citeaux, who were com- missioned to foment the troubles in Germany. Thus Pope Innocent, faithful to the maxim of the church, that the hatred of the priest should be eternal and implacable, continued to pursue Barbarossa in the per.son of his grandson Frederick, as his predecessors had done in the person of the emperor Henry. On the day of the death of that prince, the the young Frederick was hurled from his throne by two powerful factions — the one led by Philip, his uncle and tutor, who had caused himself to be chosen king of the Ro- mans, the other by Otho, duke of Sa.xony, who caused himself to be proclaimed empe- ror, under the pretext that his competitor was incapacitated from possessing the crown be- cause he was excommunicated. Then Philip, who was deeply interested in being absolved from the anathema pronounced against him, approached the holy father, and by means of money, obtained his absolution. The price of this felony, besides the payment of large sums, had been the promise of setting at liberty, without a ransom, the archbishop of Salerno and the prelates who were his fel- low prisoners. This done, the bishops of Sutri HISTORY OF THE POPES. 459 proceeded in his pontifical habit, with the ceremony of the coronation of Philip. Ten years of civil war was tlie result to Germany of the astute policy of the court of Rome. The pope did not fail to profit by these deplorable divisions, to recover, by temporal and spiritual arms, Romaj;;iia, the March of Ancona, the dutchy of Spoleto, and the patrimony of the countess Matilda. After this he tiespoiied the .senate and prefects of Rome of all their rights, and sought to render the pontifical see independent of the authority of the emperors. During this year (1198) the empress Con- stance, the widow of Henry the Sixth, died at Palermo ; appointing Innocent the Third regent of the kingdom of Sicily, and leaving him enormous sums to assure him the reim- bursement, in advance, of all the expense he would be obliged to be at in defence of the estates of her son. This regency was so profitable to the holy father, that after exer- cising it for one year, Innocent had not only repaired the losses of his treasury, but had been able to lay by enough money to under- take an active war against the neighbouring princes, for the purpose of re-establishing his authority over the old domains of the church. The pope, content with his actions in Italy, ■wished to perform the same beyond it. He published new crusades, and sent his legions of monks through all parts of Europe, to ex- cite the fanaticism of the nations. As usual, France was the first to range itself beneath the flag of Christ, notwithstanding the active opposition of king Pliilip, who was excom- municated. Thanks to the skill of Peter of Capua, the legate of the Holy See, the prince was constrained to obey the church and make peace with England, in order to send his best troops into the Holy Land. A part of his army went to I\Iarseilles, and the rest to Venice, for the purpose of passing over into Syria more expeditiously ; it, however, turned out otherwise, on account of the failure of vessels and money. Fortunately, the doge of Venice consented to place the galleys of the republic at the service of the crusaders, provided they would aid him in chastising the pirates of the Adriatic, and would be- siege Zara, a maritime city belonging to the Venetians, but which had been conquered by the Hungarians. This arrangement was agreed to; and without farther delay, the French invested Zara and carried it by storm, without troubling themselves concerning the prohibition of the pope, who had taken it under his protection. This event did not make much noise, and the conquerors were excused on the payment of a sum of money to the court of Rome, to raise the excom- munication they had incurred by making war against a crusader. Innocent, whose only object was the ex- tension of his authority over foreigners, en- deavoured to enter into negotiations with the eastern empire ; but his excessive pride caused him to repel all kinds of concessions ; furious, then, at not having been able to subject the Greeks to his sway, he resolved to destroy them by inciting the Bulgarians to revolt, and de- taching from the empire a great part of Sc-rvia, which he gave to Voulk. the governor of that province. He had even commanded the French to march against Constantinople, when a new rupture took place between the courts of Rome and France, occasioned by the second marriage of Philip with Agnes of Meranie. The pope, whose policy w-as hostile to this union, ordered his legate, Peter of Capua, to place the king- dom under interdict, until the prince had re- taken his first wife Ingerburge, and made his submission to the Holy See. At the same time he wrote to all the French prelates, de- claring himself to be the sovereign dispenser of churches, and that they must observe and • execute the sentence in the dioceses of their jurisdiction, under penalty of deposition, and the loss of their benefices. The prelates of France, fearing the thunders of Rome, obeyed the orders of the holy father with such rigour, that all the churches were closed for eight months, and the dead remained unburied. Finally, as such a state of things could not continue without serious injury to the royal lauthority, Philip solicited pardon, and the ex- communication was raised, on condition that he would take back his wife Ingerburge, be- fore the expiration of a delay, which was fixed at six months, six weeks, six days, and six hours. Germany continued exposed to the horrors of a civil war, in consequence of the divisions excited by the Holy See. The empire of the West had three emperors, the young Frederick, Philip of Suabia, and Otho of Saxony, who disputed for th(! imperial crown with arms. Innocent had at first declared for Philip; he then suffered himself to be gained over by the presents of Otho of Saxony, and recognised him as emperor, to the prejudice of the young king of Sicily, his pupil, alleging as a pre- text for such strange conduct, that Frederick would be too formidable to the Holy See, if he united on his head the crowns of Sicily and Germany, and that Philip of Suabia was unworthy of the crown, having invaded the patrimony of St. Peter with arms. The pope consequently wrote to Otho : " By the authority which God has given us in the person of St. Peter, we declare you king, and we order the people to render you, in this ca- pacity, homage and obedience. We, however, shall expect you to subscribe to all our desires as a return for the imperial crown." The legate charged with the publication of this bull came to Cologne, where he convened in an assembly all the partizans of Otho; in their presence he declared him emperor of Germany, and excommunicated all who bore arms ag-ainst him, and, in particular, Philip of Suabia and his partizans. The decree of the holy father was received by the people of Cologne with great demon- strations of joy ; but it was not so in the northern provinces of Germany. A great num- ber of prelates and lords refu.sed to confirm the election of Otho, and sent the following ener- 460 HISTORY OF THE POPES. getic letter to the pope : '' Holy father, we can- not understand your conduct. From whence have you derived examples of such audacity? Who are the popes, your predecessors, who have interfered in the election of kings'? Did not Jesus Christ separate the temporal from the spiritual power, in order that the apostles and their successors should not be seated on the thrones of the world ? . . . " Innocent replied to this letter: "You are ignorant, unskilful priests, and rude laymen, that princes derive the right to choose empe- rors from us. Is it not the Holy See which granted them this privilege, when it took from the Greeks the empire of the West, in order to tranfer it to the Romans in the person of Charlemagne ? Do you think the popes have not reserved the right of examining those who are chosen emperors, when it is they who bestow the crown and the consecration'? Learn then, that if we judge him whom you have nominated as sovereign, unworthy of the throne, we are exercising our right in re- fusing to crown him, and even in choosing another prince to govern the people." Notwith.standing this manifestation of hos- tihty, Philip of Suabia continued to solicit the aid of the court of Rome ; but every thing, en- treaties and threats, was useless. Innocent replied to the embassadors of the different powers, who had interested themselves in favour of the prince of Suabia, these words of evangelical charity, "I hate this family of the Barbarossas) either Philip must lose his crown, or I my pontificate." "In fact," says the abbot of Ursperg, " he lighted the torch of civil war in unfortunate Germany, and com- mitted such deplorable acts, that he deserves to be regarded as the most execrable of the popes." Whilst the court of Rome was urging on the people of the west to wars of extermination, the crusaders were finishing their preparations for departure. Already had a part of the troops embarked, and were only waiting a favourable wind to set sail for the coasts of Syria, when the young Alexis Angelus arrived at Venice, having escaped from the prisons of Constantinople to claim the protection of the crusaders against his uncle, the usurper Alexis. They consulted the pope as to their course in such an occurrence, which promised a powerful aid to the army of Palestine, and might bring about the reunion of the Greek and Latin churches. But Innocent, who had shortly before been gained to the cause of the usurper Alexis, by the large sums which had been sent to him, and by the promise of re- cognising him as supreme pontiff, refused to give his consent to an expedition which was to hurl that prince from his throne. He even imperiously ordered the crusaders to renounce every enterprise of this kind, and to embark immediately for Palestine. It was not difficult for the French and Vene- tians to discover the secret motives which actuated the pope : thus, without stopping on account of the menaces of the court of Rome, the confederated fleets changed their first des- tination ; the crusaders attacked Constantino- ple, which they carried by assault, and rein- stated Isaac Angelus and his son upon the throne. This success immediately changed the hostile dispositions of the holy father, and from being the enemy of the two princes, he became their devoted friend ; he declared that the crusaders had acted for the greatest good of Christendom, and demanded the submis- sion of the Eastern churches. But the Greeks were already tired of the Latin yoke ; they refused to obey the orders of the pope, and even declared war on the crusaders. The Venetians and French then returned with their fleets beneath the walls of Constantino- ple, besieged it a second time, and took it on the 12th of April, 1204. From that period until 1260, that is. for fifty- six years, the Eastern empire was subject to the sway of French princes. Baldwin, the count of Flanders, was the first who was chosen emperor, and reduced beneath his authority the provinces of Europe, which were still dependencies of the crown. All the cities of Asia, however, as well as their terri- tories, remained with the Greeks, who found- ed independent kingdoms. Michael Theodore Lascaris established himself at Nice in Bithy- nia ; Michael Comnenus reigned over a part of Epirus ; David governed Heraclea, Pontus, and Paphlagonia, and his brother Alexis in- stalled himself in the city of Trebizond, which continued to form a separate empire from that of Constantinople, even after the reunion of the other states. These princes, with the exception of Theodore, were all descendants of the family of the Comneni. Baldwin was authorised by the pope, who had gone over to the side of the conqueror, to preserve his conquests, under the express condition that he would compel the churches to recognise the supremacy of Rome, and would restore all the domains which the em- perors had taken from the Holy See, as well as the right of supreme jurisdiction, and the right of nomination of bishops. But the Greeks obstinately refused to resubmit to the yoke of the Latin church, and as neither punish- ment nor tortures could overcome their deter- mination, Baldwin was forced to permit the prelates to govern their dioceses as they chose. Towards the end of the year, Peter the Se- cond, king of Arragon, came to Rome to be crowned by the sovereign pontiff. He took an oath in the confessional of St. Peter to be submissive to the pope, both himself and his people, to defend the liberty and immunities of the church at the price of his blood ; finally, he deposited on the master altar his sceptre, his crown, and a deed, by which he bound himself to pay each year a considerable rent to the Holy See. Affairs had changed in Germany; Philip of Suabia, after six years of strife, had finally gained a great victory over Otho of Saxony; had taken the city of Cologne by assault, and had in consequence compelled his competitor to take refuge in England, with his uncle, King John. As soon as the pope was informed HISTORY OF THE POPES. 461 of the success of Pliilip, he abandoned the party of Otho, in accordance with his policy, declared for the conqueror, and recognised him as emperor. Otho, seeing no hope of again raising up his party, determined to make his submission, and even demanded Beatrice, the dauL'hter of Philip, in marriage. But Innocent was not the man to permit his ene- mies to live a long time ; a secret plot was formed at the instigation of the pope, and the unfortunate Philip of Suabia was assassinated by a count palatine, named Otho de Wilel- spach. Otho the Saxon at the same time assembled an army, which he led to Bologna, where he had convened an assembly of all the orders of the empire, to decide on the measures to be taken in this circumstance. The result of the deliberations was, as had been arranged in advance by the confidants of the prince, to send embassadors to treat with Innocent on the conditions of his consecration. The patriarch of Aquileia and the bishop of Spires went promptly to the pope, who gave them the formula of an oath which Otho should take to his legates. It ran as follows: '■ Holy father : we promise to render you the honour and obedience which our predeces.sors have rendered to you ; we promise you not to interfere in the elections of prelates, nor in appeals to the Holy See in ecclesiastical afTairs. We declare the ancient abuses, by which our predecessors seized upon the property of de- ceased ecclesiastics or vacant churches, abo- lished ; and we promise to labour efficaciously in the extermination of heresies. Finally, we will leave in possession of the Roman church the property which it has obtained from em- perors and other persons; and we will aid it in preserving it, and even in recovering that which has been unjustly retained by its ene- mies." As every thing had been arranged in ad- vance, it was soon agreed to ; the German army received orders to march, and the prince encamped before Rome. On the next day Otho was consecrated at St. Peter's, after having sworn over the body of the apostle to be the defender of the church and its patri- mony. Unfortunately, a few days after the ceremony, a fatal collision took place between the Romans and the German soldiers; all ran to arms, and it was computed that in the affray eleven hundred German knights lost their lives. Otho immediately quitted the holy city, very much discontented with his reception, and retired towards Bologna; from thence he wrote to the pope, that regarding the unfortu- nate events which had occurred at Rrrme as traitorous, he refused to restore the patrimony of the countess Matilda ; he even threatened to attack the territories of the king of Sicilv, under the pretext that Apulia belonged to the empire, and advised him that he would retake several provinces which were formerly de- pendencies of his crown, and on which the pope had seized during the minority of the prince. Furious at having found an enemy more deceitful than himself, Innocent lanched the thunders of excommunication against Otho, declared all his subjects relieved from their oath of fidelity, and prohibited them, under pain of anathema, from recognising him as their sovereign ; at the same time ho ordered his legate to excommunicate the po- desta and people of Bologna, and even to threaten them with closing their schools, which were the source of the city's prosperity, if they again opened their gates to his ene- mies. In the midst of all these wars with princes and kings, Innocent did not lose sight of heresies. He had already sent the monks Rainier and Guy, to the south of France, with power to constrain the Vaudois to abjure, and to employ for this purpose the sword, water, and fire, as these good monks should judge it necessary to use one or the other, or all three together, for the greater glory of God. "Thus," says Perrin, '-all Christendom wasagi- tated by the sight of unfortunate men hung to gallows, tortured on wooden horses, or burned on funeral piles, because they placed their trust in God alone and refused to believe in the vain ceremonies invented by men." As tire monks, notwith.^tanding their utmost endea- vours, failed in their task, and did not progress sufficiently in their work, in the opinion of the pope at least, three new legates left Rome commissioned to exterminate all heretics to the last man ; that is to say, four fifths of the southern population. These three monks who were invested with the confidence of the holy father, were called Arnaud, Pierre de Castelnau, and Ralph, worthy monks of the order of the Citeaux. The obstinacy of the Vaudois was such, that notwithstanding preachings and persecutions the sect increased daily, and even found recruits among the great lords of the country ; amongst others, Raymond the Fourth, count of Toulouse, and Raymond Roger, count of Foix. The execu- tions then became more difficult for the mis- sionaries ; the executioners refused to perform their duty; the people rose and in a moment of effervescense stoned Pierre de Castelnau, who was the most cruel of the three. As soon as the pope was informed of this mur- der he resolved to avenge it terribly, so that its e.\ample might not aflect the catholic pro- vinces, and he caused a crusade to be preached against the unfortunate Vaudois. The count of Toulou.se and his subjects were excommu- nicated; plenary indulgences were granted to those who should arm against the heretics; and the palm of martyrdom was promised to the fanatics who should perish in this war. The unfortunate Raymond, foreseeing the disasters which were to fall on his slates, soon made his submission to the legates of the pope and took the oath of obedience and fidelity to the Holy See. Nothing could appease the wi-ath of Innocent the Third ; the count him- self was obliged to take the cross against his own subjects, after having submitted to an in- famous punishment. Perrin in his history of the Albigenses thus relates the huraiUating ceremonial to which the 39* 462 HISTORY OF THE POPES. count was submitted: "The legate caused Count Raymond to be stripped of all his cloth- ing on the threshold of the church of St. Gilles ; he put a stole around his neck and caused him to make the tour of the grave of Pierre de Castelnau nine times, scourging him with rods iu the presence of counts, marquises, barons, prelates, and a great concourse of peo- ple. And as Raymond protested against this penance which was inflicted on him for a sin that he had not committed, the legate imposed silence on him by saying that he was guilty. as the sin had been committed in his states. He then caused him to swear on the crucifix, the gospel, and the relics, an entire submis- sion to the Holy See, and named him chief of the crusade, in order that the Vaudois might see that they were lost, since their friends and protectors combated against them." The crusaders could not, however, penetrate into the interior of the country until the arri- val of a new legate named Dominick, and the count de Montfort, who brought with him an army of twenty-four thousand men. Then only did the operations of the campaign com- mence, and they laid siege tg Beziers. This flourishing city courageously resisted the ef- forts of the fanatics for an entire month; at length a horrible famine constrained the in- habitants to make proposals of surrender; but as these infamous persecutors had sworn to exterminate this brave population, all offers were rejected. In vain did the Count de Be- ziers and the venerable prefect of the city cast themselves at the feet of St. Dominick, beseeching him to spare at least the Catholics, who formed a majority of the inhabitants of Beziers — the monk was inflexible, and replied, that he had received orders from the pope to burn ihe city and put all the population to the sword ; and that, moreover, after the mas- sacre God would recognise his friends. The siege was pushed with more vigour than before, and, in a last assault, the city fell into the power of the crusaders. Then com- menced a butchery of which history affords no second example. The frightful Dominick, with the cross in one hand and the bull of the pope in the other, animated the combatants and incited them to carnage, to rape, to in- cendiarism ! .... He fulfilled so well the or- ders of the pope that sixty thousand dead bodies of both sexes, men, women, children, and old persons, were swallowed up beneath the smoking ruins of their city, reduced to ashes ! Those among the unfortunate whom the soldiers spared on account of their youth, or their beauty, were reserved for new scenes of horror. Young girls and young boys were led, entirely naked, before the tomb of Pierre de Castelnan — were beaten by the monks with thongs loaded with lead, and when their bodies were entirely covered with blood, were abandoned to the brutality of the soldiers, then murdered, and their dead bodies horribly polluted ! All these atrocities were not arrested at the single city of Beziers. The executioners having no more victims at hand, pursued their march and attacked the Count de Beziers, who had retired to Carcassonne, well resolved to defend that place to the last. But he had not foreseen that he should have all the forces of the crusa- ders upon him, and he was soon obliged to propose terms. At Carcassonne, as at Beziers, Si. Dominick was inflexible : he replied, that the only condition he could offer was, that the inhabitants of Carcassonne, men, women, and children, should abandon their walls, without clothing, and should retire to a neighbouring place to await their fate. The lord of Beziers, knowing his enemies, refused to expose his subjects to the rage of these tigers, and con- tinued his defence for a month longer. Treason finally came to the aid of the crusaders. Car- cassonne was delivered up to the Count de Montfort, and was treated with the same cruelty as Beziers. Toulouse, Alby, Castle- naudary, and all the cities of the south which contained Albigenses, were also devas- tated by this army of assassins. Innocent was not contented with exercising his despotism over France, Italy, Geimany, and Greece, he wished to extend it also over England, and gave the archbishopric of Can- terbury to one of his cardinals, Stephen Lang- ton, without consulting King John, who had proposed another j)relate to him. This act of authority was illy received by the king of England, who wrote the following energetic letter to him: — "Wherefore, pope of Satan, hast thou rejected the election of the bishop of Norwich ? Is it because thou hast sold the metropolitan see of Canterbury to a prelate, who is only known to us from his intimate connection with our enemies of France ? We declare that if thou dost not retract thy nom- ination, we will prevent our subjects from going to Rome to make their offerings, and will take from thee the jurisdiction of our churches." Innocent became furious on reading this letter, and Immediately wrote to the bishops of London. Ely, and Worcester to place the kingdom under interdict, unless John imme- diately confirmed the election of Stephen Langton. They, sold to the interests of the court of Rome, immediately acquitted them- selves of their mission; they sought out the king, and exhibited to him the terrible orders they had received from Rome, and which they would be forced to put in execution if he refused to obey the injunctions of the Holy See. John, indignant at the insolence of the pope and the hypocrisy of the prelates, drove them from his presence, threatening them, that if they should have the audacity to lanch the interdict, he would banish them from England, confiscate their property, and send them to Rome to be maintained at the ex- pense of St. Peter. Such, however, Avas the influence of the popes of that period, that no- thing could intimidate the prelates; the bull of Innocent was published throughout the kingdom, and divine service was suspended. John endeavoured, in vain, to reduce the clergy to submission; monks preferred to HISTORY OF THE POPES, 463 abarulon their convents, and bishops to lose churches and their property, rather than con- travene the orders ot the pope. In the midst of this strife, a terrible sentence of the court of Rome ag;f ravated the disorders ; John was declared dispossessed of his crown ; the nation freed from its oaths of lidelity ; all Christians were ordered to oppose the king of England; Philip Augustus was designated to replace him, and a crusade was preached against Great Britain. The ambitious Philip, who had recently been reconciled with Innocent, immediately made immense preparations and threatened a descent on Engliind. In this extremity, the unfortunate king, finding himself abandoned by all the world, determined to submit to the pope, and take the oath which Innocent had pomted out, and which was as follows : — '•'We promise by the Christ and the holy evangelists, to be reconciled with Stephen Langton, the metropolitan of Canterbury, and with the live bishops, William of London, Eustace of Ely. Giles of Hertford. Jocelyn of Bath, and HiMbert of Lincoln, as well as with all other persons, as well clerical as lay, who have opposed us by the orders of the holy father; we will restore to them all that has been taken from them, and we will liberally reconjpen.se them for the losses which we have made them suffer. We swear entire submission to the Holy See, and we recognise in it alone the right of nominating prelates, and of governing the churches of our kingdom." But this oath was only the prelude for new e.vactioiis of the court of Rome ; and two days after, th(; Roman legate remitted a deed by which John declared, that for the expiation of his sins, with the advice of his barons, and of his own free and entire will, he gave to pope Innocent and his successors, the kingdoms of England and Ireland, with all their rights ; that he held them as the vassal of the pontiff, and in that capacity did him liege homage. In ad- dition to all this, as a token of his subjection, he engaged to pay a thousand marks of gold annually to the court of Rome, besides Peter's pence. He bound, by the same deed, all his successors to maintain this donation, under penalty of being deprived of the crown. The English lords, according to IMalhew Paris, re- fused to ratify this di.sgraceful treaty which .subjected them to the popes ; they revolted against the king and reclaimed their fran- chises. John ihus still found himself on the eve of losing his crown, by having taken the means which he believed the best fitted to preserve it. He hastened to .send deputies to Rome to inform the holy father of the revolt of the English baron.s, and to ask from him the aid of spiritual censures, in onler to reduce them to their duty. Innocent having heard the complaints of his embassadors, frowneil and exclaimed, " What ! do these Englisli baronets wish to dethrone a king who is under the j)ro- tection of our See, and irive to another the property of the Roman church. By St. Peter, we will not suffer this effort to go unpunish- ed.'' He immediately called a scribe, and dictated this sentence to him, "We cancel all the concessions which King John has made or shall make to his barons, prohibiting him from having any regard thereto, under penalty of excommunication. We order all the English and Irish lords to renounce the privileges which they have extorted from their king, and we order them to come to Rome to lay their demands before us, in order that justice may be done them." Neither this bull of the pope nor the threats of the bishops could arrest the disorders; and the barons continued to carry on the war to obtain new franchises. In the same year (1215), Innocent held a general council in the palace of the Lateran, for the coronation of Frederick the Second, who was definitely recognised as the legiti- mate emperor, under the condition that Sicily and Germany should be separated. The counts of Toulouse and Foix, also ap- peared before the fathers, demanding justice against the infamous Simon de Montfort, who had seized upon their estates, and in concert with St. Dominick, was continuing his massa- cres of the unfortunate Albigenses. Far from showing any indignation at the recital of the atrocities committed by his legate, the pope fiercely replieil, that he had but executed his orders, and that he could not censure orthodox Christians from exhibiting too much zeal in their holy mission. He, however, appeared to yieltl to the urgency of these two lords, and engaged to re-establish them in their domains — a false promise— .since at that very moment he was sending secret orders to Dominick and Simon de IMontfort to redouble their severities towards the Albigenses. Ferrand maintains that St. Franqois d'Assise came also to the council of the Lateran, to have the regulations which he had made for governing his cnuveuts approved. The his- tory of this visionary is so remarkable that we translate one of the episodes of his life, related by Ferrand, '-'St. FrauQois d'Assise," says the chronicler, '-at the commencement of his conversion, cast himself into a ditch full of ice, in the middle of winter, to conquer the dt'monof the flesh, and preserve from the fire of pleasure the white robe of his chastity. This pious anchorite preferred to suffer great cokl in the fiesh, than the warmth of the de- mon in his soul. Tlius,one day, he underwent great temptation at the sight of a beautiful young girl, who came to demand his blessing. FrauQois, instead of listening to the inspira- tions of concupiscence, suddenly entered his cell, and reappeared, entirely naked, with a discipline of iron, striking himself redoubled blows, to the great edification of his brethren and the villagers, until his body was stream- ing with blood. He then rolled in the snow of the garden, crying out that the Holy Si)iiit had seizi'd on him ; in fact he made si-ven enor- mous balls with the snow, tinged with his Mood, and his .•soul thus spoke to his body. — ' The largest and handsomest of these balls is your wife, the four others are your concubines, and the two last your servants; hasten then 464 HISTORY OF THE POPES, to conduct them to your fireside, for they are dying of cold.' The saint having pushed them one after another before a brazier, they soon disappeared before the heat of the fire, and only left on the stones a large place soiled by blood and water ; the soul of the saint thus continued ; 'profit by this example, my body, and perceive how the delights of the flesh should vanish in the presence of the spirit.' " Bayle also relates, very gravely, a pleasant strife, which took place between Dominick, the leader of the crusade against the Albi- genses, and St. Franqoisd' Assise. ''These two saints," says he, " having one day quarrelled, came to blows. As Francjois was the weakest, he escaped from the arm of his terrible ad- versary and concealed himself beneath a bed. Dominick not being able to reach him, armed himself with a spit from the kitchen, and in- flicted on him five terrible blows ; but God, who cherished the two monks, himself direct- ed the spit, softened the blows, and preserved St. Franqois from death ; he, however, retained from this fight scars like the five wounds of Jesus Christ." D'Aubigne has been more severe than these legendaries on the founder o*f the order of the Franciscans. " If any bishop or cardinal," says the historian, "became enamoured of his page, he need not fear to be damned ; on the con- trary, he would deserve to be canonized, since he would follow the example of St. Francois d'Asisse, who called his carnal intercourse with brother Maceus sacred loves." Notwithstanding his fight with St. Domi- nick, and his well-established reputation as a sodomite, Francois d'Assise was received with great honours at the pontifical court, and left Rome laden with presents; and, what was still more extraordinary, he alone, of all who had assisted at the synod, was not obliged to borrow from the usurers to make presents to Innocent, but even received gifts from the sovereign pontiff. Whilst the holy father was trying the strength of his anathemas against those who refused to recognise his absolute authority, Philip undertook the conquest of England, and sent his son Louis into that kingdom, whither a powerful party called him. The young prince was already recognised as sove- reign of Great Britain in several provinces, when he had the imprudence to inform the Roman legate that his new kingdom would never be the patrimony of St. Peter. Inno- cent, informed of this, immediately ordered a great ceremonial in the church of St. Peter: he mounted the tribune, and preached on these words of Ezekiel : "Sword, sword, leave thy scabbard, and sharpen thyself to kill." After the sermon, he declared Louis deprived of the throne of England, and excommunicated him and his adherents. Finally came the decisive hour in which tyrants, like other men, must go to render an account to God of their good and evil actions. This fatal day came to Innocent ; at the ter- mination of a debauch at the table he was seized with a violent fever, which brought him to the tomb on the 16th of July, 1216. Mathew Paris, in his history, represents Pope Innocent as the proudest, the most ambitious, and the most avaricious of men ; affirming that there was no crime which he was not capable of committing or favouring for money. This judgment is entirely justified by the life of this pope. St. Lutgarde, a nun of the order of the Citeaux in Brabant, relates that, in a vision which she had after the death of Inno- cent, she saw the holy father surrounded by flames; and as she asked him why he was thus tormented, he replied that it was chiefly for three crimes; and that he would have been infallibly condemned to have burned for ever, but for the intercession of the Mother of God, in honour of whom he had founded a monastery — that notwithstanding even this powerful protection, he could not enter hea- ven until the day of the last judgment — and, after having suifered tortures incomprehen- sible by the human mind. Thomas of Can- tinpre, who relates this, adds, that he was informed by Lutgarde, herself, of the three causes of the suiferings of the holy father ; but that they were so horrible he could not make them known without abandoning the memory of Innocent the Third to the execra- tion of men. HONORIUS THE THIRD, THE ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY- SECOND POPE. [A. D. 1216.] History of Ilonorius before his pontificate — His election — Troubles in England — Death of the execrable Simon de Montfort, and of the odious St. Dominick — Theodore Comnenus, king of Epirus, submits to the pope — New persecution of the Albigenses — Apparition of the Vaudois in Lombardy — Letter of the pope to Louis the Eighth — Coronation of Frederick the Second — Honorius desires to send that prince to Palestine— Quarrels on this subject between the emperor and the pontiff — Death of Honorius. Cencio Savelli, a Roman by birth, had superintendence of all the revenues of the been chamberlain during the pontificate of Holy See, had created for him numerous par- Clement the Third. This post giving him the tizans. He himself was not without merit; HISTORY OF THE POPES. 465 and a remarkable work, called the Book of Rents of the Roman Church, composed from old records, was attributed to him. His literary labours had aunmcuted the reputation he had already acrpiired, and had procured for him the title of cardinal. He afterwards com- posed a complete collection of ecclesiastical ceremonies, which is known by the title of the Roman Order. After the death of Innocent, the cardinal Cencio Savelli was chosen to succeed him, and took the name of Honorius the Third. A faithful imitator of the policy of his prede- cessor, like him he wished to govern at once the east and the west. On the very day of his coronation he wrote to the king of Jeru- salem, that he was about to raise the people of the west against the Saracens. He also addressed letters to the French emperor, who governed Constantinople, to reanimate his zeal against the Greek schismatics, and the Mussulmen. The same instructions were sent to the Roman legates in France, Eng- land, and Germany, to again light the torches of fanaticism, by preaching a new crusade. As the war of usurpation undertaken by Louis of France, for the crown of England, retarded the execution of his plans, Honorius resolved to put an end to the disputes by de- claring in favour of king John After the death of that prince, he took his son, Henry the Third, under his protection, recognis- ing him as the only lawful sovereign. In consequence of the new orders of the pope, the clergy of Great Britain every Sunday regularly excommunicated the young Louis and his adherents, throughout the whole king- dom. Little by little, the English de.serted his cause, and as he received no assistance from his father, he was finally obliged to quit Great Britain, to avoid falling into the power of his competitor, and to urge the departure of new troops which he was levying on the continent. But during his absence, the legate of the pope used the time to such advantage as to fulminate terrible anathemas airainst the rebels, and pathetically exhorted the English to return to their duty, and remain faithful to their new sovereign, that i.s, the Holy See. They distributed so skilfully, gold, thrcat.s, and promises, that they were enabled to organise so powerful a party, that on his return to England, though accompanied by a powerful army, Louis was repulsed from all the citie.s, and forced to re-embark for France. Having obtained this great success, Hono- rius could direct all his eflforts to the end whicii his ambition pro)iosed, the conquest of Palestine and Asia. For this purpose, he sent to all the bishops of the west a letter from the irrand master of the Templars, an- nouncing that tlie Saracens were extremely weakened, and that a single armv would be sufficient to exterminate them. At thi^ same time, he ordered public prayers at Rome, and went in procession to St. IMaria Majora's, with his clergy and people walking with naked feet and carrying before him the heads Vol. L 31 of St. Peter and St. Paul in their shrines. Similar ceremonies took place in all the cities of Christendom, and contributed powerfully to the organization of the numerous troops of crusaders who came together from all quarter,s, and directed their steps towards the Holy Land. The king of Hungary was the first who marched at the head of an army; he was soon followed by a prodigious number of un- disciplined bands, which, like torrents of lava, left but ruin and desolation on their passage. The alarm which the approach of the cru- .saders every where excited, became the source of enormous profits to Honorius, and he ex- tracted ransoms from cities and princes, by threatening to cause these terrible avalanches to fall on them. It was the means he used against Theodore Comnenus, the king of Epi- rus, to compel him to set at liberty John Colonna, one of his legates, who had been retained a prisoner at his court. Neither en- treaties nor threats could induce the Greek prince to send back the embassador of the Holy See; Honorius then promised indul- gences to the crusaders who should go to Epirus to avenge the injury done to the Roman church. Theodore Comnenus imme- diately changed his resolve, hastened to set the legate at liberty, and even furnished him with an escort to accompany him as far as Constantinople. Though the pope appeared to be very much occupied with the new crusade, he did not, however, lose sight of the heretics of the west, and by his orders, St. Dominick and De Alontfort continued their massacres in France, and covered all the southern pro- vinces with funeral piles and scaffolds. The two instruments of pontifical despotism at length excited such a hatred in the generous population of the south, that the cities of Mar- seilles and Avignon, instead of marching against the heretics, as they had been re- quired to do by the pope, sent re-inforce- ments to Toulouse, which was a second time besieged by the execrable Simon de JNIont- fort. God did not permit him to renew in this city the frightful scenes of the first siege; ho was killed beneath the walls of the place whilst he was preparing the gibbets and in- .struments of torture which he designed for the inhabitants. Dominick being left alone to continue the massacres, soon showeil, by the new ardour which he brought to the persecution, that ho had promised the court of Rome to replace Simon, and alone to perform the task of two executioners. Diflicult as it was, he was ful- filling his promises, when death struck him in his turn, and gave some repose to the Abi genses. This double loss would have discouraged any other than a pope ; Honorius thousfht only of replacing his legate; and as it appeared to him that the work of an executioner could not be performed better than by a king, he wrote to Louis the Eighth, who had succeeded Philip Augustus : " Very dear Son, you know 466 HISTORY OF THE POPES. that Christian princes are compelled to render an account to God of their defence of the church, their mother. You should then be deeply afflicted at seeing the heretics attack religion in the provinces of the Albigenses ; if it is your duty to pursue robbers in your king- dom, you should the more purge it of those who wish to ravish souls. We find the efforts we have made against the heretics have be- come useless; and more than three hundred thousand crusaders have fallen in this holy cause, without making it triumph. Errors are more and more propagated ; and it is feared lest they may soon infect your king- dom, which, until this time, has shown itself, by a particular blessing of God, to be more strengthened in the faith than other king- doms. It is on this account, that in the name of Christ we exhort and conjure you, Catho- lic prince and successor of Catholic kings, to offer up to God the first fruits of your reign, by exterminating the heretics of the south. We are informed that Amaury, the new count of Toulouse, and son of the glorious Count de Montfort, has offered you all the rights which he has over the provinces of* the Albigenses, and consents to unite these lands to your do- mains, in exchange for your protection. We authorise you to accept his proposals for your- self and your descendents, that they may show themselves to be ardent protectors of orthodoxy, in the south of France. Finally, we inform you that Raymond, the son of the former Count of Toulouse, so dreads your power, that he will not fail to submit imme- diately to the church, when he shall kno\v that you are marching against him. Act then as religion wishes ! Take arms, since God and your interest command it !" In conformity with the orders of the pope, Louis levied an army, and joined his troops to those of Amaury de Montfort, to crush the unfortunate Albigenses. Raymond, pursued by his enemies, enclosed in his states, was soon compelled to submit to the Holy See. The heretics finding themselves exposed, defence- less, to all- the rage of their persecutors, aban- doned Fiance, and took refuge in Lombardy, whither sacerdotal hatred still pursued them ; for Honorius wrote to the bishop of Brescia, " It is our will, that the towers of all the lords who have given an asylum to heretics, be razed to the earth, without being able to be ever rebuilt, and those of the less guilty be dismantled to the half or third part, accord- ing to the importance of the crime." As after the departure of the king, the Albi- genses had again raised their heads, the pope wrote to Louis, to put an end to his disputes with the king of England, in order to direct all his troops upon the southern provinces. "And in order," said Honorius, "that my conduct should be in conformity with evan- gelical morality, which orders popes to use their power to put an end to useless wars, and to direct the sword against the enemies of God. You know that it was said to the high priest Jeremy, ' I have set thee over the peo- ple to destroy and to build up.' Thus popes have the power of disposing of armies and khigdoms, and of raising or destroying em- pires ! It is on this account, that we order you to restore to the English prince the territories which you have invaded, to cease all hostili- ties against him. and to employ your troops in the extermination of your heretical subjects.''" These representations acted powerfully^ on the superstitious mind of Louis the Eighth; he concluded a treaty with the king of Eng- land, took the cross from the hands of the Roman legate, and went towards the south of France, at the head of his army. Avignon was the first city which fell into his power; its walls were thrown down, ditches filled up, and all its courageous population put to the sword. But divine justice did not permit this monster to continue the course of his cruel- ties; he fell sick and died, thirty days after the capture of Avignon. Whilst half of France, in obedience to the sacrilegious orders of the pope, was precipi- tating itself upon the south, Frederick the Second was endeavouring again to strengthen the great imperial edifice, so much shaken by the rough attacks which proud pontifi's, during preceding reigns, had made on it. The belter to succeed in his purposes, he feigned to be animated by a great zeal for the crusades, and was among the first to enrol himself in the sacred militia; he, however, retarded his de- parture under new pretexts, now alleging im- portant affairs, now giving it as a reason that he could not quit his kingdom, until he had been crowned emperor. Honorius penetrated his secret intentions, and in order not to furnish him with an ex- cuse, he decided solemnly to consecrate him in the church of St. Peter at Rome. Alter the ceremon)\ Frederick received the cross from the hands of cardinal Hugolin, bishop of Ostia, and publicly renewed his vow to go to the Holy Land ; as he however still deferred his departure, the pope, wearied with his tar- diness, wrote to him : '■'• Would to God, prince, that you would consider with what impatience you are waited for by the eastern church, which hopes to see you abandon all other cares for the deliver- ance of Jerusalem. In France, England, and even in Italy, it is asked why you defer the execution of your vow, by retarding the de- parture of the galleys which you have armed for Syria, and where they would be of so much assistance to the crusaders in the de- fence of Damietta.'"' Frederick did not even reply to this letter, and continued to occupy himself in the ad- ministration of his estates. But when the loss of Damietta was known at Rome, the anger of the holy father broke forth ; he ac- cused the emperor of being the cause of the checks which the Christians had experienced in the east, and threatened to excommunicate him, if he did not go immediately with his army to combat the infidel. So much insolence exasperated the young prince. He came to an open rupture with the Holy See, seized on several domains which HISTORY OF THE POPES. 467 the pope had usurped, drove from the king- dom of Naples and Sicily all the prelates whom he suspected, and named others in their place in accordance with the privileges of the ancient monarchy of Sicily. He then wrote to the court of Rome, that the time had come to restore to him the rights of w hich Innocent the Third had despoiled him. and also those which Honorius luul taken away at the time of his coronation^ threatening in case of a refusiil to march on Rome and ?ack it. The pope discovering that he had been too hasty, and not daring then to engage in a strife which could only be fatal to him, im- mediately retracted, and replied to the prince with hypocritical mildness — "I exhort you, my dear son, to recall to your recollection that you are the protector of the Roman church ; do not forget what you owe to that good mother, and take pity- on her daughter the church of the East, which extends towards you her arms like an unfortunate who has no longer any hope but in you." Notwithstanding this apparent mark of submission, the holy father none the less con- tinued the organization of a powerful league against the emperor of Germany and Italy. Frederick, who was informed of it, immedi- ately convened the German bishops and his nobUity, in the city of Ferentina, to put the pope on his trial. Honorius, far from exhibit- ing fear, went to this assembly accompanied by John of Brienne, king of Jerusalem, and his (laughter Yolande, by the commander of the templars, the grand master of the Teuto- nic knights, and several other great persons from various countries. The adroit pontiff knew how to avail himself skiltully of the beauty of the daughter of king John in serv- ing his purposes ; he brought about secret interviews between her and Frederick ; and when the young prince, smitten by the charms of the beautiful Yolanile, expressed a wish to marry her, the pope declared to the two lovers that the marriage could only take place on condition that the king should go definitely into Syria to reconquer the throne of his father-in-law. Frederick appeared to yield to these proposals, in order to clear away the obstacles which opposed themselves lo las union, and occupied himself with as.sembling his forces by land and sea. as if he was really going to transport them into Palestine. But as soon as the marriage was concluded, liis ardour for the crusade relaxed, and he de- manded further delay. Honorius, who had had time to take his measures, refused to accede lo the demands of Frederick; and immediately caused all the cities of Lombardy to' revolt. The emperor essayed to re-establish order in his kingdomj and wished to levy troops in the dutchy of Spoleto; but the clergy had there kindled the fire of rebellion, and the Spoletins refused to grant the troops without an order from the pope, whose vassals they declared themselves to be. This universal resistance alarmed the emperor. Through necessity he approached the Holy See, and promised to put hi.-? journey to the Holy Land in execution ; and, as a proof of his submission, he placed his kingdom under the protection of the Roman church, and bound him.self to pay it a considerable annual tribute. The pope, fearful lest new obstacles to his plans should rise up, consented to make peace, and pressed the departure of the crusaders in all the countries of Europe. He died in the interval, and had not the satisfaction lo see his policy triumph. His body was buried at St. Maria ]\htjora, on the 20th"of jNIarch, 1227. Honorius showed himself, in the course of his reign, to be as cruel and ambitious as his in- , famous predecessor. GREGORY THE NINTH, THE ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY- THIRD POPE. [A. b. 1227.] Opinion of Maimhurf; about Gregory — Enthronement of the new pope — War against the Albi- gcnscs — Quarrel between the emperor and the povc — Frederick is excommunicated — He avenges himself on Gregory — Ilis departure for the Iloly Land — 2'he pope makes irar on his lieute- nants— His return to Germany — He is again ejccommunicatcd — Great inundation at Roitic — Peace between the emperor and pope — Gregory is driven from Rome by the people — He becomes reconciled with the Romans — New discords between the altar and t)ic throne — Frederick the Second is excommunicated the fourth time — The pope offers the imperial crown to the king of France^ who refuses it — Convocation of a council for a crusade — St. Louis prohibits the pope from levying dimes in his kingdom — Death of Gregory. Maimburo afTirms that Gregory was well ! to extremes w hich were frequently veiy pre- maile in his person, of a majeslic carriage, | judicial lo his interests. Having become and especially very learned in the canon law ponlifT, he abandoned the title of cardinal and Holy Scriptures. He adds, however, that bishop of Ostia, though still keeping the re- we must deplore the extreme severity and venues of that sec, ami gave up his name of violence of his character, which urged him Hugolin to take that of Gregory. He was ori- 468 HISTORY OF THE POPES. ginally from Anagni, and v/as descended from the illustrious family of the counts of Segni. as was his predecessor Innocent the Third. His exaltation was made with unusual pomp ; on the day of the ceremony he went to St. Peter's with an imposing train of cardi- nals and archbishops; and after having cele- brated divine service, he went to take posses- sion of the pontifical palace, traversing the streets of Rome mounted on a white horse, richly caparisoned with scarlet housings, all shining with gold and precious stones. Every where on his passage were spread flowers and perfumes ; the houses were hung with tapestry resplendent with gold and silver; at the head of the cortege walked young girls singing hymns of joy ; then came the monks in double file, with the children of the schools, all carrying palm branches or bunches of flowers ; after these followed the officers of the magistracy and the army clothed in silk and gold ; and finally, the president of the senate and the prefect of Rome, walked by the side of the pope, leading his horse by the bridle. Behind this magnificerit cortege, which extended from the great palace to the banks of the Tiber, followed by an innumerable crowd of priests and citizens, Gregory thus arrived in triumphal the palace of the Lateran, where he was submitted to the usual proofs. On the day succeeding his installation, the new pontiff wrote to all the bishops of Eu- rope to accelerate the departure of the cru- saders, under the penalty of incurring eccle- siastical censures. He sought at the same time to reanimate the persecutions against the unfortunate Albigenses, and availing him- self of the ascendency which he exercised over the mind of Blanche of Castille, the mother of St. Louis, who had been appointed regent of the kingdom during the minority of her son, he induced her to confide the com- mand of her troops to Imbert of Beaujeu, one of the most ardent fanatics of the day. Under the command of that lord, the religious war recommenced as terribly as in the time of Simon de Montfort. All the Albigenses who fell into the power of the Catholics were massacred with extreme cruelty; and those who, to avoid death, surrendered, were piti- lessly condemned to the funeral pile by Ame- lin, the legate of the pope. "But," says Perrin, " the more the persecution increased, the more did the number of the heretics multiply." Gregory, though much occupied with the Albigenses, was" not forgetful of Germany, and he ordered the emperor to depart for the Holy Land, in fulfilment of the vow which he had taken at the time of his marriage with the daughter of the king of Jerusalem. As it was no longer possible for Frederick to put off his departure, he promised to obey him, and in fact fixed on a general rendezvous for .his troops at Brindes. It was then in the mid- dle of summer ; an epidemic soon broke out in the army, and in a few days a large number of soldiers were carried off by the scourge. The emperor took advantage of the general panic to invent a new trick to free himself from his promise. By his orders a priest ap- peared in the camp of the crusaders, repre- senting himself to be a legate from the pope and instructed by the holy father to release them from their vows, and authorise them to return home. This trick was entirely suc- cessful ; on that very day the army disbanded, and the emperor remained with his own guards; he, however, embarked for Palestine, to fulfil, as he said, the promise made to the holy father; but three days afterwards he returned to the port of Otranto, alleging as an excuse, that he had discovered the impos- sibility of his supporting the fatigues of a voyage. Furious at the emperor, Gregory was no longer careful in his proceedings ; he w^ent to the cathedral of Anagni, his residence, and there, clothed in his pontifical ornaments, surrounded by the cardinals, bishops, and other prelates of his suite, he thundered forth a sermon on this text, "We must remove the scandal from Christendom;" and after the sermon, he lanched ecclesiastical thunders against the emperor. Frederick replied by a manifesto against the Holy See, m which this passage occurs : " Learn, people of Italy, that the Roman church not only swallows up, in its orgies, the wealth which it snatches from the superstition of the faithful, but that it even despoils sovereigns, and renders them tribu- tary. We do not speak of the simony, exac- tions, and usury with which it has infected all the west ; for every one knows that the popes are insatiable blood suckers. The priests afiirm that the church is our mother, our nurse ; it is, on the contrary, an infamous step-mother, which devours those whom its hypocritical voice calls children. It sends its legates into all quarters to lanch excommu- nications, to order massacres, and to steal the wealth of princes and people. In its hands the morality of Christ has become a terrible arm, which permits it to murder men in order to ravish from them their treasures, as a bri- gand would do upon the highway. Under the name of indulgences it impudently sells the right to commit every crime, and gives the best places in paradise to those who bring it the most money." The publication of this manifesto increased still further the exasperation of the pope ; he immediately returned to Rome, lanched a second e.xcommunication against Frederick, and endeavoured to excite a rebellion in Apulia. For this purpose he addressed the following circular to the bishops of that coun- try : "We have drawn against the emperor," said he, " the medicinal sword of St. Peter, and with a spirit full of mildness we have lanched our thunders against that proud prince who refused to fulfil his vows regarding the Holy Land." He then ordered the prelates to place all the cities and country which the emperor traversed under interdict, and to ex cite the inhabitants to assassinate him. On his side, Frederick, in order to resist the pen HISTORY OF THE POPES, 469 tiff, called to hi? aid the Fiangipani, and other Roman iortls, who were enemies to the Holy See. He bought from them all the property which they possessed at Rome in houses and lands; he then restored to them their titles to their liefs, on condition that they would be- come his allies, and would aid him on all oc- casions against the church. This done, the Frangipani returned to Rome, excited the people against Gregory, and on Easter Mon- aay, whilst he was celebrating mass in the church of St. Peter, a revolt bioke out in llie city ; the pope was insulted at the very altar, pushed out of the church, driven from the city, and forced to take up his residence at Perouse. Some months afterwards, the emperor was apprised of the death of Noraddin, the sultan of Damascus; this news changed all his policy; judging the momeut favourable for passing over into Syria, and reconquering the throne of Jerusalem, to which he had rights from his marriage with the daughter of John de Brieu- ne, he immediately sent five hundred knights into Palestine, whilst he himself prepared to embark with a formidable army. The holy father, who saw with chagrin the triumph of his enemy, prohibited him from crossing the sea, before receiving absolution from the cen- sures of the church. But the emperor having testified no more regard for its prohibition than he had for its injunction, Gregory e.xcommu- nicated him for going to the Holy Land as he had before anathematised him for his refusal to go. Then taking advantage of the absence of Frederick, the holy father declared war on Rainald of Aversum, duke of Spoleto, who had been left by that prince in the govern- ment of Sicily, Apulia and Calabria. He sent an army against him, commanded by cardi- nal John Colonna and John of Brienne, the father-in-law of the emperor, who had taken up arms against his son-in-law out of base jeal- ousy, because he saw him on the point of re- seizing a kingdom which he would never have abandoned, if he had entertained a thought of ever being able to reconquer it. The papal army obtained for this war the same dispensations as the crusadeis, and the only thing which distinguished the soldiery of the pope from the soldiery of Christ, was the sign they bore on the shoulder ; the one had the cross, the other the keys ; as to the rest their conduct was alike. As they had a provision of plenary indulgences, they stop- ped, neither the one nor the other, at the com- mission of massacres, rapes, and burnings, and it woidd be difficult to tell who e.vcelied in cruelties and sacrilege: for the Christians of Apulia were treated with such barbarities by the lecrates of the pope, that it appears impos- sible for the intidels to have sulfered greater disasters from the crusaders. Thomas of Acquin, count of Acerra, rendered an account to th(! emperor of the invasion by the troops of the iv)|)e, in the following terms : "After your departure, illustrious prince, Gre- gory assembled a numerous army by the aid of John of Brienne, and of some other lords; bis legates then entered your territories, say- ing, that they would conquer by the sword, since they had not been able to break you down by an anathema. Their troops have burned the villages, pillaged the cultivators, violated the women, devastated the fields, and, without respecting churches or cemeteries, have stolen the sacred vessels and robbed the tombs; never did a pope act so abomi- nably. He has now caused all the ports to be guarded, in order to seize your person if you arrive with a suite too weak to defend you ; he is, finally, even intriguing in the Holy Land, in which you are ; and he has made a compact with the templars to put you to death by the poinard of an a.ssassin. IMay God keep you from the pope and his vicars!" This letter enlightened Frederick as to the dangers which he incurred in the camp of the crusaders, and he hastened to enter into ne- gotiations with Melee Camel, the sultan of Egypt, to conclude a treaty. He did well : for during the conferences the templars and hospitallers sought to betray him, and had written to the sultan to inform him that Frede- rick was about to make a pilgrimage on foot, and almost without an escort, to the river Jordan, on the third day succeeding the re- ception of that letter, and that thus the IMus- sulmen could, without a blow, take him a prisoner or put him to death. Fortunately, JNIelec Camel was a generous enemy; and after having heard the message, he informed the emperor. The latter, judging that it was not prudent to allow his indignation to ap- pear, feigned entire ignorance, promptly con- cluded his arrangements with the sultan, and embarked for Italy. His arrival changed the face of affairs: the papal troops were com- pelled to retreat, and the Sicilian army, in its turn, acted on the offensive. But Gregory was not the man readily to abandon his aim; and as money was wanting to him for the continuance of the war. he gave ordeis to squeeze all Christian coun- tries. England was taxed with a tenth part of the moveable goods of the kingdom. - All the children of the church must come to our aid," wrote the holy father to his legates ; '• for if we fail in our present contest with the empire, all the clergy will perish with their chief." This extraordinary tithe was levied with the approval of the king; the legates acted with such rapacity, that they included in moveable goods, even the crops which ware yet on the ground ; and, as the holy father was unwilling to wait for the realization of this impost, they sold its collection to the bi- shops, at a low price, in order to receive the money at once ; or in tlefault of money, cha- lices, reliquaries, and the other sacred vases of their churches. After England, the pope rairsacked Italy, France, Germany. Spain, Portugal, and even Deirmark and Sweden. With this money, drawtr from the credulity of the faithful, he levied troops, and es.sayed to retake the country ; but the new recruits were cut to pieces, and the emperor con- liitued to advance on Rome, where his party 40 470 HISTORY OF THE POPES. was all-powerful, thanks to the Frangipani, who had remained masters of the forts built since the expulsion of the pontifT. Gregory, recognising the impossibility of subjugating Fiederick by the sword, tried ecciesiaslical thunders, and fulminated the following anathema. "We release all the subjects of Frederick the excommunicated, from their oaths of fidelity, especially those of the kingdom of Sicily; because Christians should not regard the sanctity of an oath towards him who is the enemy of God, and who tramples under feet the decrees of the church." Still the spiritual arms were im- potent to arrest the march of the emperor, and Rome only awaited his arrival to open her gates to him, when a terrible event changed the disposition of their minds. In a single riight, at the end of a storm, the Tiber left its bed, and its waters covered the city even to the tops of the houses ; a prodigious number of the inhabitant.s were drowned : others were crushed beneath the edifices which fell down ; and, finally, others deprived of all succour, died of famine; and to heighten the disasters, when the waters had by degrees regained their bed there re- mained in the streets and cellars a great tilth, which, mingling with the dead bodies in a state of putrefaction, engendered an epidemic which decimated the population. The partizans of Gregory hastened to dwell on this public calamity, by representing it as a heavenly punishment ; and they determined the citizens to send a deputation to Perouse to offer to restore the pope to the palace of the Lateran ; it was accepted promptly, and Frederick, who knew the super.stitious spirit of the Romans, dared not go further and even sought to enter into an arrangement with the holy father. His envoys were at first repulsed by the sacred college : presents then produced their usual effect, and it was decided to enter into conferences with them. The following were the conditions of the treaty proposed by the pope : — " Frederick shall permit that, for the future, in the king- dom of Sicily, the elections, postulations, and confirmations of churches and monasteries shall be made in accordance with the decre- tals of the general council ; he shall indemnify the templars and hospitallers for the damages which they have sustained in defence of the church, during the divisions; he shall pay all the expenses incurred in this war ; and, finally, he shall give the Holy See sufficient security to guarantee the execution of the present con- vention."— Frederick ratified all the clauses of this treatj-, and, in token of submission, went to Anagni, after which the two allies dined together, and renewed the oath to main- tain the peace which they had signed. But each sought to deceive his enemy, having decided to seize the favourable mo- ment to overthrow the other. The emperor continued his intrigues at Rome, and the pope was soon driven a second time from the holy city, and compelled to take refuge at Nice ; on his side the pope had sent secret emissa- ries to Henry king of Germany, the oldest son of Frederick, to urge the young prince to re- volt against his father. He had also, under pretence of pacifying the cities of Lombardy, sent into that province a celebrated preacher named John of Vincenza, to preach to the people union against the empire in case the emperor should wish to oppress them. Fi- nally, for the same end, Gregory had pub- lished a collection of decretals, forming a species of code, in which all the decisions of the court of Rome, upon causes in which the pope was to judge as an arbitrary sovereign, were found classified. This collection was afterwards called the Book of the Decretals of Pope Gregory the Ninth, and aided the popes in attributing to themselves the absolute go- vernment of benefices. Such was the situation of affairs when the new revolt broke out against Gregory. He im- mediately wrote to Frederick to demand his aid, feigning ignorance of the part which he had taken in the matter. As the prince, in his reply, did not even take the pains to con- ceal the joy which he felt at the expulsion of the holy father, the latter made dispositions to take his revenge, and under pretext of a war against the Romans, sent legates into all Christian kingdoms to obtain a tenth of their revenues. The embassadors of the pope were the bearers of the following bull : "In the war which we maintain against the Romans, we act merely, my brethren, for the interests of the whole church, we consequently order you tc send us the tenth of the produce of your goods, and a proper succour of men-at-arms: that we may be enabled to crush our adver- saries, so that for the future they shall not dare to rise against us." The sovereigns of France, Castile, Arragon, Navarre, Portugal, Barcelona, Roussillon, Germany and Austria, hastened to obey the orders of the pontiff, to prevent their being excommunicated. These reinforcements of men were directed not on Rome, but Milan, to aid the Lombards who were in open revolt, and who recognised king Henry as their lawful sovereign. In this extremity, Frederick endeavoured to reconcile himself with the pope anew, and offered conditions' so advantageous to the Holy See, that Gregory immediately aban- doned the unfortunate prince whom he had placed at the head of the revolt. Henry, re- duced to his own forces, could do nothing but submit; he laid down his arms'and came to implore the clemency of his father. The em- peror, justly irritated against him. confined him in a strong fortress, where he died some years afterwards. When peace was entirely re-established in his kingdom, Frederick again dreamed of taking vengeance on the pope, and sent into Sardinia Henry, one of his bastards, with a formidable army to conquer it; after which he declared him king of it to the prejudice of the rights of the Holy See, which for ages claimed the possession of that island. Gre- gory, furious at the success of his enemy, im- mediately assembled his cardinals in council, HISTORY OF THE POPES. 471 and fulminated this new sentence of excom- munication : — " By the authority of the Fathen Son and Holy Spirit, and that of the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul,^\ve anathemati*? Frederick who calls himself emperor, as sacrilegious and a heretic. We excommunicate him becau.se he has excited seditions in Rome against the church, for the purpose of overthrowing us from the apostolic throne, and of upsetting the sacred college of our cardinals. We ana- thematise him, because he calls us Anti-Christ, Balaam, and Prince of Darkness; becau.se he has hindered our legate from persecuting the Albigenses; because he has seized upon the territory of the church, and especially Sardi- nia; and because he refuses to return to the Holy Land. We declare all his subjects ab- solveil from the oaths they have taken to him, and we prohibit them, under penalty of ex- communication, from obeying him until he shall have come to implore our mercy."' Frederick was at Padua when he received the bull of anathema fulminated against him, and in his rage he replied with a terrible manifesto. Thus recommenced the war be- tween the pope and the emperor. Frederick drove from Sicily all the preaching friars; he levied subsidies upon all ecclesiastics without distinction, and prohibited his subjects from going to Rome without especial authority. On his side the pope called to his aid the cru- saders, who were ready to embark for Pales- tine, seized upon pious legacies and alms destined for their wants, and as he was not yet strong enough to attack the emperor, he sent legates to the court of France to solicit money and troops. St. Louis permitted the embassadors of the Holy See to convoke an assembly of the clergy and nobility at Senlis, and they there obtained permission to seize a twentieth of the reve- nues of the kingdom to succour Rome. Grego- ry was so well pleased with the conduct of the French, who for the third time, and at periods so approximate, had granted to him enormous subsidies, that he offeretl the impe- rial crown to Robert, count of Artois, the brother of the king. St. Louis rejected this odious proposal. '• How has the pope dared to depose so great a prince ?" he said to the legate. " If Frederick has merited the cen- sures of the church, he ought above all to be judged in a general council, and not by his enemies. For our part, we regard him as in- nocent and as unjustly anathematised ; we know that he has combated bravely in the Holy Land, and that he was exposed to all the dangers of war whilst the pope was seeking treacherously to deprive him of his kingdom and even to cause him to bi; assassinated. '• We are unwilling, then, to imitate the con- duct of Gregory, and to combat against this prince to deprive him of his crown ; we know that the holy father is not desirous of Christian blood when it Hows for his temporal interests. Besides, if we were weak enough to subserve his fury what would it avail us? After the victory for which he would be indebted to us. he would turn against us and trample us under loot, as his predecessors have so oiten done to the kings of France or emperors of Germany. You have asked for money from us; we have granted it to you, but we refuse to give you the soldiers you ask lor to conquer a crown you are not permitted to dispose of.'' Gregory then wished to assemble a general council in order solemnly to depose the em- peror; and as he feared lest Frederick would throw obstacles in the way of its assembling if he penetrated the true object, he entered into negotiations with him and gave out that the synod was to fix the basis of a delinite peace between the altar and the throne. At the same time his legates spread themselves through France and England to distribute the letters of convocation, and to impress the bishops of these provinces favourably to him. But Frederick was not the dupe of this ruse, and he wrote to the king of France, "You have already, prince, relused to become the instrument of the fury of Gregory, and to de- clare against us; the implacable pontiH' has not, however, renounced the hope of ranging you on his side, and he essays a new trick to surprise your piety. No, the council which he wishes to assemble is not to be the meilia- tor of peace ; it is, on the contrary to be sub- servient to his ambition and to overthrow our empire. We declare to you then, to you, illustrious prince, whose interests are the siime as our own. that as long as war shall exist be- tween the empire and the Holy See we will not authorise the convocation of a council, be- cause we consitler it unbeconiinii' in a kiijg to submit to the decision of priests a case which has such important bearings on our secular power. We accordingly forewarn you that we will pursue to extremity those of your pre- lates who shall go to this assembly. We also inform you that the enormous sums which you have pemiitted to be raised in your es- tates are actually expended for the pay of the soldiers destined to make war on us ; and that they are preparing to make new demands on you for money." In fact, the pope, seconded by his legates, had made a fourth levy of money in all the monasteries of France, and he \^ aited for these new supplies to reinforce his army antl attack the emperor. St. Louis, apprised of this by Frederick, stopped this money, already on its way towards Italy, and appropriated it to him- .self for the wants of his kingilorn. At the same time, the emperor surrounded all the sea-ports, and made prisoners of the cardinals and bishops who were going to the council. The war was pursued on both sides with e(]ual vigour; at length the cardinal Co- lonna, the best general of the pope, having en- tered the .service of Frederick, the party of the (Jhibelines had the advantage; Beneventum, Faenza, Spoleto, Assi.se, ami a great num- ber of other cities fell into the power of that prince, and his troops were soon enabled to make incursions beneath the very walls of Rome. Notwithstanding these reverses, the stubborn 4t: HISTORY OF THE POPES, Gregory obstinately refused to make peace with the empire, as a letter addressed to the king of France, by Frederick, testifies. "We learii," wrote the prince, "that the Tartars have invaded Hungary, and threaten to blot out the empire and the church j but ardent as is our desire to oppose the progress of this new invasion, we are constrained above all else to contend with the pope, our implacable enemy. It is on this account we are marching towards Rome; and we are about to besiege it, since we cannot obtain peace." In the month of August, Frederick, having taken Tivoli, and the fortified castles of the monastery of Far.sa by assault, established his camp at the grotto Ferra, from whence he ravaged the campagna of Rome. Gregory continued to maintain himself in the holy city, although the inhabitants were divided into two powerful factions, the Guelphs and the Ghibelines, who daily came to blows, and according as one or the other were victo- rious, hoisted the imperial standard or the pontifical banner. In the midst of these al- ternatives of fear and hope, Gregory fell sick, and died on the 20th of August, 1241, after having filled Italy with disasters during a reign of fourteen years. This implacable old man was almost an hundred years old. He was buried in the church of St. John of the Lateran. This embittered strife between the popes and the emperors is a very remarkable fact in the history of the church. Since the pon- tificate of Gregory the Seventh, the. Holy See, which derived all its power from the emperors of the West, declares itself their implacable enemy. The court of Rome no longer defends its rights by invoking charters granted by princes ; it is from God alone that it pretends to hold its temporal as well as its spiritual power ; and this principle of theocracy once established, the popes deduce from it frightful consequences; they declare themselves the masters and rulers of the entire world ; they call themselves infallible ; they attribute to themselves the same prerogatives as the di- vinity ; they proudly call themselves the vi- cars of Christ, the representatives of God on earth ! ! Thusjhey dispose of thrones and empires, oveithrovv the one, reconstruct the other, and according to the caprices of their imagination or the interests of their policy, they urge na- tions into interminable wars. Men are for them machines which they use to draw^ gold from the bowels of the earth, instruments which they employ to raise statues and palaces for them. Finally, these hypocritical pontiffs in the name of a God of humility, elevate the chair of St. Peter above the throne of kings. In the name of a God of charity, de- spoil the unfortunate people. In the name of a God of mercy, cause the unfortunate victims of their fanaticism to expire in tortures. CELESTIN THE FOURTH, THE ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY- FOURTH POPE. [A. D. 1241.] Division in the sacred college — The cardinals nominate tico popes — Both compelled to abdicate — Election of Celestin the Fourth — His moderation — His plans of reform — He is poisoned by the priests. At the time of the death of Gregory, there Avere but ten cardinals at Rome. These wrote to Frederick to beseech him to set at liberty the prelates whom he retained in his camp, in order that the sacred college might be enabled to as- semble and proceed to the election of a new pontiff. The prince acceded to their request, and permitted his prisoners to go to Rome to meet the conclave, on condition that they would choosethe cardinal Otho, one of his crea- tures. He granted besides to the absent cardi- nals safe conduct to re-enter the holy city. — But so great a confluence of electors was not counted upon by the prelates who were assem- bled. As each of them had already made his terms when he sold his vote, they feared they could not control the majority of the assembly, because too numerous; and they hastened to terminate the election before the arrival of their colleag-ues. Geoffrey, bishop of Sabine, had five votes, dnd the other three were given for Remain, bishop of Porto. At the defeat of his protege, the emperor declared that he would approve of the nomination of Geoffrey, who was gene- rally esteemed for his virtues; but he pro- nounced with energy against that of Remain, the same prelate who had figured in the massa- cre of the Albigenses, and who had afterwards e.xcited violent disputes against the university of Paris by means of the assistance of Queen Blanche, his mistress. Moreover, the two elec- tions were null in themselves, neither of the prelates having received two thirds of the votes which the constitution of Alexander the Third requ ired . They were both accordmgly obliged to abdicate. On the ne.xt day they proceeded to a new election. On this occasion such a quarrel broke out in the conclave, that from words they would have come to blows but for the intervention of the senate and the pre- fect; finally, in this strife, Geoff'rey gained one vote, and was solemnly proclaimed chief of the church. HISTORY OF THE POPES. 473 The new pontiff was originally from Milan. He had first been a canon, and chancellor of the church of that city \ then he had taken the monastic habit in the order of the Citeaux. Afterwards, Honorius the Third had ordained him a cardinal priest \ and finally, during the pontificate of Gregory, he had been promoted to the bishopric of Sabine. After having un- dergone the usual proofs, he was enthroned by the name of Celestin the Fourth. This good pope endeavoured to reform the infamous morals of his clergy. Unfortunately he was not prudent enough to discard from his person the courtiers of the preceding reign ; and eighteen days after his election, he died of poison, not having been consecrated. INNOCENT THE FOURTH, THE ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY- FIFTH POPE. [A. D. 1241.] Vacancy in the Holy Sec — Information against the assassins af Celestin — Flight of the cardinals — Frederick orders the Romans to choose a new pope — Exaltation of Innocent the Fourth — Negotiations for peace — Treaty between Frederick and the pope — Innocent betrays the emperor and fies from Rome — His Journey into France — Council of Lyons — The emperor is solemnly deposed — Henry the Second, son of Frederick, is chosen king of Germany at the instigation of the pope — Civil wars excited by Innocent — Letter from the sultan of Egypt — Innocent excom- municates the kin^ of Arragon and Portugal — The English revolt against the legate of the court of Rome — The pope sells his protection to the Jews, and persecutes the Christians who refuse to pay the dimes — Example of a confessor''s knavery — Neiv crusades — St. Louis de- parts for the Holy Land — Death of Frederick — return of the pope into Italy — Conrad, the third son of Frederick, takes the title of emperor — Complaints of Bishop Robert Grosshead against the pope — Absolute sicay of the Holy See over Italy — Death of Innocent the Fourth — Reflections on the odious character of the pontiff. The poisoning of Celestin the Fourth plunged Rome into consternation and alarm. The people, who had placed all their hopes on the life of this pontiff, loudly demanded the punishment of the guilty, and threatened those whom the public voice designated as the assassins, with a terrible vengeance. A rigid examination, in fact, was commenced, and it led to such strange revelations that the magistrates were compelled to stop their in- quiries, the murderers being cardinals and archbishops. These, finding themselves dis- covered, and fearful of a just punishment, secretly escaped from the city, abandoning to their colleagues the care of choosing a new pope. There then remained in the sacred college but six cardinals, all ambitious of the papacy, and each of them unwilling to make a concession to his competitors; thus, with such pretensions, it became impossible to nominate a pontiff. Frederick, tired of waiting for the termina- tion of their quarrels, threatened to hang them all if they prolonged the scandal of iheir ri- valry any more. '• Is it not shameful," he wrote to them, " that the faithful can justly say, it is not Christ who is among you, but Satan himself?'' — St. Louis, on his side, had also addressed .several letters to them, exhort- ing them to put an end promptly to the long vacancy of the Holy See. The emperor, finally discovering that they regarded neither entreaties nor threats, quitted Apulia, whither he had returned after the death of Gregory, re-entered the land of La- VoL. I. 3 K hour in the month of March, 1243, and led his army beneath the walls of Rome. The city was ,so closely blockaded, that provisions could no longer enter it by land or water; the magistrates then sent a deputation to Frede- rick to represent to him that it was unjust to punish them for a fault of which the cardi- nals alone were ginlty, since the citizens were disposed to drive from the city the authors of all the disorders — which was done on the very same day. Frederick yielded to these representations, raised the siege and placed the members of the sacred college under the ban of the em- pire. By his orders, all the domains of the Guelphs were ravaged, not only their lands and castles, but even the monasteries, churches, and convents of the nuns. Those who held out for the cardinals were pitiles.sly massacred ; the city of Albano especially, which had opened its gates to them, v.as treated with the greatest cruelty. These latter, finally, finding themselves driven from their domains, despoiled of their dignities, and pursued by indefatigable enemies, de- termined to name a pope. It is said, more- over, that that which alarmed them the most, was the news that the French were preparing to erect an independent patriarchate to govern the caJlic church. The conclave assembled anew in the city of Anagni on the 24th of June, 1243, and proclaimed as sovereign pontiff, Sinibald of Fie.sca, of the family of the counts of Lavagne, and a cardinal priest of the order of St. Law- 40* 474 HISTORY OF THE POPES, rence. He was enthroned by the name of Innocent the Fourth, submitted to the usual tests, and consecrated some days after his promotion. He had been the intimate friend of the emperor, therefore the ministers of Frederick congratulated him on an election which could not fail to be advantageous to the empire. But the prince, who knew the ambitious character of the new pope, interrupted them by saying: "Cease your congratulations, for this change of fortune is about to take from me the friendship of the cardinal and bring on me the hatred of the Holy See." We shall see, in the end, Innocent the Fourth, pursue his old friend with even more fury than his predecessor Gregory. Notwith- standing his sinister forebodings, the emperor caused masses to be celebrated throughout all his kingdom to render thanks to God for the election of a sovereign pontiff; and some days after, having returned into Sicily, he sent a solemn embassy to compliment Innocent, and offer him the aid of his arms, in order to assure the maintainance of the dignity and liberty of the church. . The holy father hstened kindly to the embas- sadors, and sent them back with three nuncios, Peter of Colmieu, the metropolitan of Rouen, William, the former bishop of Modena, and William, the abbot of St. Fagon, in Gallicia, to treat of the conditions of peace with Frederick. The instructions given to his envoys were, that they should demand that he should immedi- ately set at liberty all the ecclesiastics who had been taken by the galleys of the Genoese, but without giving any satisfaction in ex- change ; and that after having heard all the proposals of Frederick, they should reply, that all questions in litigation between the church and the empire could only be judged of by a general council of kings, princes, and prelates. This first negotiation was without any result, on account of the obstinacy of the pope, who rejected the just claims of the emperor on the Holy See. To wards. the end of the month of October, Innocent left the city of Anagni, and came to Rome, where every thing was prepared for his reception. He found there the young- Raymond, count of Toulouse, who had come to solicit his absolution ; the holy father, who was aware of the diplomatic abilities of the count, resolved to employ him for the interests of the Roman church ; he granted him abso- lution from all the anathemas which he had incurred, and induced Frederick to appoint him one of the imperial commissioners whO; with Peter of Vignes, and Thadeus of Sweden, were to arrange the basis of a treaty. On his side, the pope appointed the bishop of Ostia and three other cardinals, Stephen, Giles, and Otho, to defend the privileges of the Holy See. With such commissioners, it was easy for the holy- father to have all the clauses which he dictated approved. Thus there was a speedy arrangement. The following were the conditions of the treaty : — Frederick was to restore the territories which he had taken from the Holy See, and to recognise by a pub- lic confession that it was not from contempt that he had refused to submit to the sentences pronounced against him by Gregory the Ninth, but through the inspiration of the devil : he was to proclaim that the pope, even though the greatest of criminals, alone possessed su- preme power over all Christians, whatever might be their rank : and, finally, the prince was bound to set at liberty all those who had risen against him during his excommunication, and to found churches, hospitals, and monas- teries, to expiate his crime of rebellion against the church. All these articles were sworn to by the commissioners of the king, amidst the applause of the cardinals and pope ; but when Frederick had been informed of the treason of his delegates, he sharply refused to execute the treaty. Innocent, not daring to break with the em- peror, whose anger he dreaded, proposed an interview with him at Sutri. The prince re- fused to go there before having received his letters of absolution, and declared that it was at Rome itself he w'ould cause his rights to be recognised. This threat, and the approach of the imperial troops, alarmed the holy father — secret orders were expedited to Genoa, to make dispositions of the galleys ; and when all was ready, by night, without admitting any one into his confidence, to avoid being stopped by the Ghibelines, he laid aside the insignia of his dignity, armed himself lightly, mounted a strong horse, and, accompanied by a single domestic, took the road to Civita Vecchia. — He urged his flight so rapidly, that he had traversed eleven leagues by daybreak ; he then caused his domestic to return, to inform Peter of Capua, and seven cardinals of his party of his flight, that they might join him at Civita Vecchia, where twenty-three galleys, each manned by sixty well-armed men, and one hundred and twenty rowers awaited them. These vessels had come under the leading of the admiral of the republic of Genoa, and the relatives of the pope. Innocent embarked on the same night with the cardinals and some bishops, and arrived on the 5th of July, 1244, at Genoa, his country. On his disembarca- tion, he was harangued by the principal per- sons of the republic, and borne in triumph by the clergy to the cathedral, amidst the accla- mations of the people. Frederick, informed by his spies that the pontiff meditated a second flight out of Italy, blockaded all the routes by sea and land, to make him a prisoner. Innocent had al- ready asked from the king of France permis- sion to establish himself al Rhcims, the see of which was vacant, and the latter had replied, that the barons of the kingdom, jealous of the liberties of the Gallic church, were unwilling to permit the pope to fix his residence in France. Like refusals had been received to the overtures which had been made in Spain, England, and several other kingdoms; "for," says Mathew Paris, " they knew too well the avidity and despotism of the Roman court to wish for the presence of the holy father ; the HISTORY OF THE POPES 475 people were beginning to comprehend that religion was only a pretext made use of by the legates to pillage them ; and they had learned from recent examples that popes and their cardinals, like swarms of grasshoppers, left behind them but ruin and desolation." Disgracefully repulsed on all sides, and not daring to remain m Italy, Innocent deter- mined to go to Lyons, a neutral city belong- ing to an archbishop. He had scarcely arrived when he expedited circular letters for the con- vocation of a general council. — His aim, he said, was to raise up the church which had bowed its forehead before an horrible tempest, to conrpier the Holy Land, re-establi.sh the empire of Romania, repulse the Tartars and other infidels, and, finally, constrain the em- peror to humble himself before St. Peter. According to the usage of his predecessors, the pope, regardless of the rights of the vener- able archbishop who had received him, seized on his palace, his goods, and all his authority; he disposed of cures, prebends, and benefices, and sold them to strangers, or gave them to persons of his train. At length the Lyonese canons, indignant at the conduct of Innocent, revolted against him, and protested with oaths, that if the Italian priests showed themselves in their churches, they would cast them into the Rhone ; the people took part with them, and a chamberlain of the pope having dared to strike with his wand a citizen who asked an audience of the pope, the latter drew liis sword and cut off his hand. Curiosity or fanaticism, however, drawing to Lyons bishops and French lords, the council took place, and behold, according to Malhew Paris, what were the events which passed in the assembly. " The emperor Frederick," says the historian, '• sent embassadors to de- fend his rights. They held, previously, a council to hear Thadeus of Sweden, who, in the name of the prince, his master, offered to re-establish concord between the empire and the church; to bring back to the obedience of the Holy See the states of Romania ; to oppose the Tartars. Chorasmians, Saracens, and other enemies of the court of Rome ; to go in person to deliver the Holy Land, and, finally, to restore to St. Peter that which he had taken from liim, and do penance for the sins which he had committed." Innocent, who a.ssisted at the conference, exclaimed, "Oh, these great promises! We see, my lord Thadeus, that your master fears the blow which threatens him. If I accepted hisoffer.s, and he should then break his oaths, what would be the security ? Who would force him to keep his engagements'?" Thadeus replied, " The kings of France and England, most holy father." Innocent immediately re- joined, '-We refuse them; for if the emperor failed in his word, we should be compelled to turn to these princes and chastise them like him, which would excite against the church the three most redoubtable sovereigns of the West. No : we will not thus depart from the line of our policy, which is to reduce kings and people by making them combat each other." ''Who are the people," adds the chronicler, " who can read these terrible pages of the history of the popes, without raging with indignation? How long will kings, princes, and people consent to obey as slaves the court of Rome, and to bow before an insolent priest, who arrogates to himself the right to chastise them?" At the close of the first session of the synod, Innocent pronounced the .sentence of excom- munication and deposition against Frederick, declaring the empire vacant, and ordering the electors to choose a new emperor. Philip Fontaine, bishop of Ferrara, was sent imme- diately into Germany with orders to cause Henry, landgrave of Thuringia and Hesse, to be chosen king of the Romans and the metropo- litan of ^layence, who had taken part in all these intrigues, was charged to preach a cru- sade against Frederick. Not content with creating confusion in the empire by means of his intrigues, the pope took assassins into his pay, and organised a vast conspiracy, into which he induced the relatives, friends, and even famihars of the emperor to take part. But the plot was discovered, and all the con- spirators payed for the treason of the pope with their heads. "Then," says Jurien, "the empire was covered by armed men, who ravaged by turns the rnost beautiful provinces. In Germany, Conrad combated for his father; in Italy Frederick disputed with his enemies for his crown and life. We see nothing but leagues, revolts, factions, sieges and battles ; every- where pillage, incendiarism and massacres reigned. The landgrave Henry, he whom the pope had proclaimed king, having been killed in a skirmish. Innocent proclaimed in his place, William, Count of Holland, who, in his turn, was forced to fiy before the arms of young Coinad. During an entire year the war continued with the same fury, and Chris- tian blood was shed by torrents in the name of an execrable pope." Innocent, who wished to raise the whole world against Frederick, so implacable was his hatred, was infamous enough, vicar of Christ, to write to the sultan iMelec Saleh, to induce him to make a descent on Italy, thus violating the faith sworn to the emperor. The IMussulman replied to him, " We have re- ceived your letters and given audience to your envoy. He has spoken to us of Jesus Christ, whom we know better than you appear to, anti whom we honour more than you do. We refuse your request. — Safety." During this same year, the pope, furious at seeing all his efl'orts fail, wished to try his power over princes less redoubtable than the emperor; he excommunicated James, king of Arragon, to punish him for having cut out the tongue of the bishop of Gironne, who had sold to his enemies secrets of state. Upon the accusation of the prelates of Portugal, he also anathematised King Sancho the Second. The interdict was pronounced against his states, the sovereign was deposed and the re- gency given to comit Alphouso the father of 476 HISTORY OF THE POPES. the prince. These two communications gave rise to civil wars in Spain, and during several years the Arragonese and Portugese covered their countries with massacres and incen- diarisms. The ecclesiastical thunders were not so suc- cessful in England, and the legates of the Holy See, though armed with anathemas, were driven disgracefully from Great Britain, and f)rohibited from re-entering the kingdom, and evying new tenths upon the people. Inno- cent the Fourth, informed that a monarch dared to protect his subjects against the ra- pacity of his legates, immediately lanched a bull of excommunication against him, but he fountl no one who consented to publish it, and the holy wrath served but to unmask his hypocrisy. In the midst, however, of all his crimes, we should give him credit for the protection which he extended to the Jews of Germany, who were crushed beneath the tyranny of bishops and archbishops. Thanks to him, the unfortunate Israelites could breathe in peace, v/ithout fear of being pillaged, robbed, and massacred by Catholics. It is true, that they paid dearly for the friendship of the pope, and that several among them, from being rich were reduced to misery. During the sojourn of Innocent at Lyons, chance brought to that city a knight of the emperor, who had retired from his service m consequence of some discontent. As he lodged in the same hotel as Walter d'Ocre, doctor and counsellor of the prince, the two Germans soon made acquaintance, and be- came friends. The pope, informed by his spies that two partizans of the emperor in- habited the same hotel, soon originated a great piece of scandal, and sent emissaries through the city to report that Frederick de- sired to assassinate him. As absurd as was this accusation, the two Germans, fearing to be submitted to the torture, hastened to quit Lyons to regain Germany. Innocent did not discontinue the investigations; and as the hotel keeper, named Renaud, fell seriously ill, he gave him, as a confessor, in his last moments, an Italian priest, who, on the succeeding day, deposed before an assembly of the chapter of the cathedral, that the dying man had reveal- ed to him the infamous plot of the agents of Frederick. This odious falsehood was pub- lished through all Europe; and, to give it more credence, the pope feigned that he dared not leave his palace, keeping about his person a guard of fifty armed men, who accompanied him even to the altar whenever he celebrated divine service. He did not, however, obtain from this new trick any of the advantages that he hoped for. He then fell back upon preach- ing crusades, which were inexhaustible sources of profit for the popes ; his legates traversed all Christian countries, and came as far as Norway, from whence they brought back fif- teen thousand sterling marks, besides large presents, and a donation as a perpetual rent of five marks of silver for each diocese of that country; other kingdoms produced the holy father in the same proportions aa Norwa)'. France, according to custom, distinguished herself by her religious enthusiasm; although exacted three times during the pontificate of Gregory the Ninth, it was she who furnished the most money to the pope : she alone then consented to make a new expedition into Pa- lestine for the remission of the sins of St. Louis. That stupid and devotee king assem- bled a numerous army of crusaders, and de- parted on the 12th of June, 1248, for the Holy Land. At first he gained some advantages over the infidel, and seized upon Damietta, but the Saracens soon took their revenge ; the French army was cut to pieces, and the king himself fell into their power. This new disaster lost the kingdom all its valiant youth, and the remainder of its gold, which it had to give for the ransom of its imbecile mo- narch. Thus terminated the first crusade of St. Louis. The priests did not fail to attribute the reverses of the crusaders to their sins and their abominations, in order to e.xplain the false prophecies which had announced great victories. These accusations were well found- ed : for, according to contemporary historians, the French lords abandoned themselves to so many excesses, that they appeared to be rather the defenders of Satan than the servants of Christ. Behold how the Sieur de Joinville, one of the actors in this crusade, expresses himself: — "The barons, knights, and other nobles, who were in the camp of St. Louis, and who should have wisely kept the money which they had for their future v\'ants, spent it foolishly in banquets and festivities. Thus, when their ruin was commenced, the}' were obliged, in order to live, to rob the soldiers. Misery soon led to demoralization — no woman nor girl could enter the camp without being violated on the plain, and led into the lupa- nars which were kept around the royal pavi- lion ; finally, those who would wish to relate all the abominations with young pages, nay, even of the sins against nature, would risk their salvation from the terms they would be compelled to use." Brocardus Argentoratensis, one of the monks who had followed the army, gives a singular explanation of these disorders. " In the Holy Land," says this chronicler, "are men of all nations, and each lives according to the cus- toms of his country, with a license which is unequalled; and to tell the truth, the Chris- tians are the most corrupt of all — for the fol- lowing reason : in France, Spain, Germany, and Italy, when a wretch has committed all kinds of crimes, and wishes to escape from the justice of the prince, he goes to Palestine, where, thanks to the indulgences, all his sins are remitted him. When he arrives there, the theatre of his crimes is changed, but not his heart; he violates, pillages, murders, as before his departure for the promised land. Cursed be through eternity the popes who in- vented the crusades." Whilst St. Louis, a victim to the councils of HISTORY OF THE POPES. 477 the pontiff, was a captive among the Saracens, Innocent was pursuing Frederick with his hatred, and was snbsiitising assassins. He had gained over Peter de Vignes, ordinary physician to the prince, who was at the same time his counsellor and confidant. The em- peror having fallen sick, in consequence of the fatigues and chagrin which he had undergone in the late wars, Peter de Vignes was assisted by a physician sent from Lyons, and presented a poisoned beverage to the monarch. Frede- rick had fortunately been apprised of this trea- son, when the assassins had placed the cup in his hands, he feigned to feel an insur- mountable disgust for the drink which it con- tained, and gave it to the Italian physician, beseeching him to taste it himiself. The latter. finding himself taken in his own snare, dared not refuse, and carried the cup to his lips; at the same time he made a false step, and thiew it down on the ground. The guards imme- diately entered. Henry caused them to take up the liquor in a sponge, and ordered the condemned to drink it in his presence. Three of these unfortunate ones died in horrid con- vulsions. The emperor caused the Lyonese physician to be strangled immediately, and condemned Peter de Vignes to have his eyes torn out, and be given up to the Pisans, his personal enemies, to be tortured. At the mo- ment at which the punishment was com- mencing, the patient beat out his brains against a column to which he had been fastened. Frederick had scarcely escaped from this Eeril when he received the news that Henry, ing of Sardinia, one of his natural sons, had been taken prisoner by the Bolognese, and that another of his children was dead in Apulia. So many disasters overwhelmed the unfortunate prince, and as he found himself attacked by a disease called the sacred fire, he decided to offer peace to the Holy See on advantageous conditions. Innocent rejected all his proposals; he did not even wish to receive his envoys, and persisted in declaring him de- prived ot the empire. Frederick languished still for a year, consumed by the fever, and died on the 4th of December, 1250, leaving his kingdom to his son Cotn-ad. The pope, who was still in Lyons, imme- diately wrote to Germany and Sicily to kindle civil war in those kingdoms, and to cause them to recognise as emperor, William, count of Hol- land, to whom he had already given the title of king of the Romans. This prince, notwith- standing the protection of the holy father, was constrained to retire before the victorious arms of the young Conrad, and to renounce his vain title. On his desisting, the pope then offered the imperial crown to the count of Gueldres, the duke of Brabant, and the earl of Cornwal. These three princes refu.sed it. Finally, he offered it to the king of Not way, who declared that he did not wish a dignity so easily ob- tained that even the popes could dispose of it. Notwithstanding these different checks, the faction of the Guelphsobtaineil the supremacy in Italy, and Innocent made his dispositions to return to Rome. Before, however, quitting France, he reiterated the e.vcommunication against the memory of Frederick, and anathe- matised the young Conrad, to punish him for having seized on the insignia of the empire without his authority. He then went to Ge- noa, from thence to Milan, and traversing Lombardy rapidly, he esiablislied his court at Perouse to gain time to assemble the forces of his party. , Conrad, on his side, had also profited by the time; with the assistance of the Venetians, who had furni.shed him with a fleet, he had embarked at Pescara and gained a brilliant victory over the couiits of Aquina and Sora, two GueJphs, who wished to oppose his en- trance into Sicily. This defeat, far from dis- couraging the pontiff, only rendered his hatred the more violent ; and nut being able to levy nor subsidise troops, he sent his missionaries into Brabant, Flanders, and France, to preach a crusadg against the emperor Conrad, pro- mising to those who would undertake it, in- dulgences more extensive than those granted to the crusaders of the Holy Land ; since these latter only gained pardon for their sins, whilst the others would obtain for themselves, their children, and their families, the right of com- mitting all crimes with impunity. But the French, at length worn out by these incessant demands for men and money made, — so often against the infidels, so often against the emperor Frederick, so often against his son Conrad, drove the missionaries out of all the cities of the kingdom, and the regent was compelled to assemble the states to take the advice of her subjects. The deputies com- plained loudly of the pope, and accused him of being the cause of all the disasters which overwhelmed Europe ; they blamed severely the policy of the Holy See, which not only- urged on the English. Germans, and French into wars of extermination in Syria, but which even essayed to hurl one part of the West on Italy to aggrandise his pov.er. Finally, they constrained Queen Blanche to make a decree which authorised the confiscation of the pro- perty of the fanatics who were willing to em- bark in a crusade against the emperor Con- rad ; the lords did the same towards the vassals who held uniler them, and this step caused the crusade of Italy to fall through. Repulsed in France, the pope fell back on Englanil,and wrote to the bishop of Lincoln, a venerable prelate, esteemed by all on account of his wisdom and the purity of his morals, to ask for succours from him. The latter refused to obey the injunctions of the court of Rome, antl sent a circular to all the ecclesiastics of Eng- land to urge them to resistance. " The pontiff," he wrote to them, " is not ashamed to annul the wise con.stitutions of his predecessors; he desires to govern us as a despot, and to dispose at his will of our fortunes and our lives ; before him, many popes have afilicted the church: Innocent surpasses them all in wickedness. I He has covered Christian kingdoms with usu- rious monk.*, a thousand times hanier than the Jews ; he has ordained minor brothers I and preaching friars called in at the last mo- 478 HISTORY OF THE POPES. ments of the faithful to frighten them, in or- der to extort from them testaments in favour of the Holy See; under pretext of crusades he encourages the odious traffic in indul- gences so well, that now they sell absolution to the laity, as in former times they sold animals in the temple; and his agents measure out sal- vation by the amount of money given them. "He sells churches, prebends, benefices to strangers, ignorant and unlettered priests, and these intruders, on arriving in their new cures can neither preach, nor receive confessions, nor even succour the poor, because they do not understand the language of the inhabit- ants. He has introduced the custom of buy- ing bishoprics, without having received orders and only to get the revenues. Finally, he has filled the world with so many scandals and abominations, that we cannot enumerate all his robberies, adulteries, assassinations — and as we cannot deliver Christendom from this prop of Satan, at least let us protect Great Britain against the encroachments of this enemy of humanity." Notwithstanding the example set by Eng- land and France, the Italians, excited by the preaching of the monks, tooTc up arms in favour of the Holy See ; the Ghibelines once victorious, gradually lost all their conquests, and that which heightened their disasters was the death of Conrad, who was poisoned by his natural brother Mainfroy, at the insti- gation of the pope. Before yielding his last breath, the emperor perceived that the part}- of the court of Rome would be for a long time triumphant, and as he could not but fear for the life of his son, the young Conradin, who was only three years old, he wished to make a protector of his enemy, by giving to the pope the enjoyment of the revenues of the kingdom of Sicily. Innocent accepted the tutelage which Con- rad had bequeathed to him, and he declared that he would preserve for the young prince the kingdom of Jerusalem, the dutchy of Suabia, and all his rights over the kingdom of Sicily, or his other states. He then received an oath of fidelity from the subjects of Conra- din, permitting them always to add, "saving the rights of the young prince." As to the assassin Mainfroy, who had so well served him, he caused it to be signified to him as well as to the marquis of Honebruc, and the other lords of their party, that they must leave the Roman church sovereign mistress of the kingdom of Sicily and its dependencies, grant- ing them time to make their submission until the nativity of the Virgin ; which time i)assed, he threatened them with excommunication, and the privation of their dignities and for- tunes, w-hich was done as he had threatened them. After this, he sent his nephew, Wil- liam of Fiesca, into Sicily in the capacity of legate, and supported him with a numerous army, to govern the kingdom. He peimitted him to seize on the revenues of the vacant sees, or prebends, and gave him full power to impose collections, to coin new money, and to confiscate the property of those who had sup- ported the party of Frederick, in the last wars, to sell the domains of the crown, and, finally, to lay hands on all the deposits of money and arms he might find in the kingdom. Mainfroy, deceived in his ambition, at first thought of avenging himself on Innocent, and kept a part of Apulia and Calabria in revolt ; but having then considered every thing he could draw from his position, resolved to make his submission to the Holy See. He accord- ingly proposed to the pope to place him in possession of Apulia, Calabria, and a great part of Sicily, if, in return, he would appoint him tutor to Conradin, and give him the principa- lity of Tarentum, the countships of Gravine and Tricaricjue, and declare him his vicar over the unsubjugated parts of the kingdom of Sicily. Innocent, who saw himself freed at a blow from his most formidable enemy, consented to all, and delivered up the son to the assassin of the father. He then resolved to visit his new states, and came to Ceperano, where Mainfroy awaited him to sign the con- ditions of the treaty. From Ceperano, the pontiff went to Capua and Naples; but God had marked the terra of his triumphal march; he was attacked in that city by a grievous malady, which carried him off on the 7th of December, 1254. END OF VOL. 1. m ^ Date Due '^^-'52 ,,«.«*^-^^ ■■'" ! f) BW851.C81V.1 The public and private history of the Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 1 1012 00066 2884 !l|ijlllti!ljilii!l!!!ii!i!i!!iill!ili|liilliiil!|iliiil!iliii|illijjilijii !':i!«S!ii^illiliiiiiiili'il!!ii!!|l!l!li!!ll!iil|||li!!l!lii^ 7 5 ^ i* ^ 'Q 't-^ t ^ -v-l -f ^ ^# 41 '# 41 ■# 4f li 4^M| 1 >,v'\n< Is 1f1*.lH^ mvv JlUin. 0;^-^^iH-MiH*^'^'^ ri; 1^ 'i!! ♦^'i % n |] !] ^1 n v- ^k 4! \y lyHlif !?B